Just An Odd Pirate Story 3: Yo ho!
by BG Sparrow
Summary: [COMPLETE! Threequel to Buried Treasure! and ARGH] The pirates are back just in time for Christmas! And a bit of mistletoe action!
1. Make a wish, Stewie!

(A/N – Jack! We're back! And this is a very special story… Hi all! Glad to see those old reviewers here to read this, and of course Jack and I always welcome the new ones! Well, you've read the summary, hopefully the other two Just An Odd Pirate Stories, so now begins the story I've been dying to post for months! So grab the munchies and enjoy the story, cuz this is a good one…)

-Starts on Wednesday, December 7, 2005. If you read the epilogue in ARGH, you know this already! Me – 16 ½, Lindsay – 16 (and 10 days), Stewie – turning 15! It's her birthday in the opening-

: STRONGLY recommended that you check out the other two stories if you're new to this or you'll be totally lost in the story! Just An Odd Pirate Story: Buried Treasure! and then read Just Another Odd Pirate Story: ARGH! To avoid headaches of confusion! Thanks! Reviews still appreciated and read on those, btw:

**NEW FEATURE!** Chapter Listening Enhancement! lol… CLE for short. There's now a song for each chapter that you can play and get into as you read along! I go basically by beat, not lyrics for this… but anyhoo, if you wanna play these songs while you read, it'll make your reading experience all the better!

**CLE** **– "The Anthem" by Good Charlotte**

- Oh wow… another story to torment me with disclaimers!

- I own stuff believe it or not! There's a list from the last story, and there's one for this one, too: Lindsay, Jessica, Holly, Paige Castrella Madrine (Lillian Paige Barbossa), Miss Isabelle Garrett, Thomas Pikes, and a few more to come! (All names not used right away, but will come later! New and old to come!)

With all _that_ said and done with, let's move on, shall we?

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CHPATER ONE: "Make a wish, Stewie!"

"Can I take off the blindfold yet?" Jessica asked.

"No," I said. "It's a surprise!"

"Hey Erica…"

"What, Lindsay?"

"Can I drive on the way home?"

"No."

"Why!" she whined, getting out of the car.

"You just got your permit a week ago!" I whined back.

"Ten days!" she said, correcting me as we went to get Stewie out of the car. No good… the super smartness trips and falls… So, then we pick her up and walk her across the parking lot.

"Are we at Eat 'n Park?" she asked.

"No," Lindsay said.

"But why! We get discounts and free strawberry pie!"

"Because I'm not listening to my boss on your birthday," I said.

"I want pie…" Jessica moaned.

We opened the doors, and Lindsay clapped her hands over Stewie's ears so she couldn't hear the Mexican music playing that would give it away.

"What is this!" she yelled.

"Chill, Jess," I laughed as we stumbled into the restaurant. The waitress screwed up her face as we made our loud entrance with laughter and tripping and that, but we made it!

"Err… may I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. "We have a reservation."

"We WHAT! HUH!" Jessica yelled.

"Stewie, shut up…" Lindsay said.

"HUH!"

"Wednesday…" the waitress muttered. "Eight o'clock. Is that correct?"

"Yeah," Lindsay said.

"WHAT!"

"Um, we have the party table," I explained (DANG IT! First chapter and it's already happening!). "It's her birthday."

"Oh, well… right this way," she said, lightening her face into a smile of amusement.

"WHAT! THE KITES WILL PAY!"

"Stewie, shut up!" Lindsay whispered.

"HUH! SPEAK UP!"

We were led to our table with Stewie still screaming ("KNIGHTS KISS DAY! WHAT! HUH! TELL ME!"), and then we rounded the corner and saw it. The one with all the balloons and party stuffs… Lindsay and I stood on either side of Jessica, and Lindsay took her hands off of Jessica's ears.

"Ah, that's better," Jess said. "Now take off the blindfold!"

Lindsay and I untied it, and Stewie's face lit up at the site of the table. She clapped, jumped up and down, and then threw an arm over each of our shoulders.

"I think she likes it," I said to Lindsay as Stewie nodded. She flew into the booth, and Lindsay and I sat opposite her. Jessica started playing with the balloons as we ordered, and then we started talking.

"This is awesome!" Stewie said all excited.

"We knew you'd like it," Lindsay said. "So open the presents!"

Jessica sat still a minute looking over at the gifts, then she grabbed Lindsay's and began shredding it apart. When she had finally gotten through three layers of wrapping paper, she found the Nightmare Before Christmas shirt at the bottom and was beaming as she threw it on over all of her other clothes.

"Courtesy of Hot Topic," Lindsay said.

"I love this!" Jessica said, now undoing my gift. It was small, but it fit Stewie like a glove… she opened it, did her little 'I-love-it' freak dance thing, and put it on.

Happy Bunny in a straightjacket necklace. Haha…

Later on after we ate and there was peace among burps, we all sat back in enjoyable pain from eating this huge taco platter. Stewie had to've eaten half of the thing herself at least… and there were twelve freaking tacos!

"Good, Jess?" Lindsay asked. Jessica fell back into the seat and put her hand on her stomach.

"Burp," she said with a smile.

Then suddenly (notice how everything happens suddenly? lol), I heard it… that clapping… Lindsay and I peered round Jessica's shoulder to see half the staff coming out carrying a plate of fried ice cream with a candle in it. They sat it down in front of Stewie, smashed a big sombrero on her head, and they sang their little birthday song:

"Happy, happy happy birthday! Happy, happy happy birthday! Happy, happy happy birthday! To you! To you! To you! OLE!"

Then they ran off back into the depths of the 'Employees Only' rooms, and Jessica laughed her butt off.

"Make a wish, Stewie!" Lindsay said.

Jessica shut her eyes tight and blew out the candle with one quick _poof_.

"What'd you wish for?" Lindsay asked right away.

"She can't tell you," I said. "Then her wish wouldn't come true!"

"Yeah," Jessica said. "But can you guys help me? I cannot eat all this…"

"Oh, but we have faith in you, Stewie," Lindsay said. "The bottomless pit!"

"Let's just eat and fast," I said. "We gotta be back by ten anyways since we've got school tomorrow."

So we stuffed our faces, burped, and went to leave. But Jess refused to let us take another step away from the table unless we took every balloon there with us, and I'm sorry to say that poor Lindsay got stuck in the backseat with them when we left Chi Chi's ('You're gonna die, Stewie!')…

Anyhoo, by the time we made to Stewie's, Lindsay and I had a half hour til we had to actually be home, so we went inside with Stewie to chill in her room til we had to go. We fell onto the couch-bed on the bottom of her bunk bed (she's so lucky… bunk beds and she doesn't even have to share 'em…) as Stewie popped in Nightmare Before Christmas and sat down at my left.

Lindsay and I had been laughing and that and joking and singing along the first fifteen minutes, but when we wanted Stewie to join in, she'd just smile and sit quietly. We exchanged puzzled looks.

"Uh, Stewie?" I asked. "You ok?"

She nodded.

"Did the food make you sick or anything?" Lindsay asked her.

"No," she replied.

"Headache?" I asked.

"No."

"Then what's wrong?"

Stewie just kept looking off blankly at the television.

"Do you think that… sometimes… I don't know…" she said awkwardly. "Do you guys think wishes come true?"

"Well, yeah, duh," Lindsay said. "Not all of them, but yeah…"

"Why, Stewie?" I asked.

She was staring blankly again. But when Lindz and I followed her eyes, it wasn't at the television; it was at the picture of us with Paige, Jack, Will, and Elizabeth from summer. I looked at Lindsay with a dropped jaw and she bit her lip as we looked back over at Stewie.

"Jess, you didn't…" I said.

"Didn't what?" she asked. Then she looked over at the picture, to us, and sighed. "Aww, now my wish'll never come true…"

"Stewie!" Lindsay and I chorused.

"What!" she asked. "Is it a crime! I just miss Paige and them, that's all…"

"What about me?"

A head with long blonde hair fell from the top bunk with a large grin, but all three of us (and the head) screamed. The head lost its balance and fell off of the top bunk hard to the floor. We stared in disbelief as we got up slowly.

"Paige?" I gaped.

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_

"Jess? What's all the yellin' about?"

Shoot! It was Stewie's mom… Lindsay and I froze as Jessica ran up to the door and slammed herself against it gripping the doorknob.

"Err… nothing!" Jessica said. "Just watching a scary movie! We're good!"

Once we were sure Jessica's mom was gone, Lindsay and Stewie helped Paige up off the floor, and I looked up on the top bunk to see how she had gotten there (the ruby, duh), but I was greeted with the site of Will and Elizabeth!

"What the freak!" I said.

Lindsay and Jessica looked up from the floor, and they gocked, too as Elizabeth climbed down off the top bunk quietly.

"Will! What-"

"Just let them stay here!" he said. "This is urgent; they'll explain everything. I'll be back by sunrise with Jack."

"But we can't!" Lindsay said. "School's in and our parents are unavoidable! Not a good time!"

"Please, we need you again," Elizabeth said. "It's bad."

"Well, yeah it's bad!" Jessica said.

"Look, just trust me," Will said.

And just like that, he was gone.

Okay, we just got landed with pirates again. We are _so_ dead.

The three of us turned to Elizabeth and Paige wide-eyed.

"What-were-you-thinking!" Jessica yelled.

"Look, it's important," Paige, said. "And we promised to see you before the year was out because you left the ruby with us so when it was convenient for us we could come here!"

"All right, shh…" Lindsay said. "Be quiet and tell us what the heck is going on before Jess's mom catches you."

"My father has disappeared," Elizabeth said. "He's been missing for two days."

"Maybe he got lost on his afternoon stroll?" I asked. "What about it?"

"Well, Jack and I sailed in for a visit and restock last week," Paige said. "Then just the other day Governor Swann turns up missing, and everyone in the manor's getting suspicious and blaming me and Jack for it!"

"What?" Jessica asked.

"That's messed up," Lindsay said.

"So we need somewhere to hide Jack and Paige for the time being," Elizabeth told us. "And there's no better place than here."

"True…" we said.

"So can you put us up for at least two weeks?" Paige asked.

"Eh…"

"I don't think we can…" I said. "We've got school to go to, parents who don't know who the hell you are, and –"

"Lindsay!" I said, cutting her off. "You're grandma home tonight?"

"No, night shift. Why?"

"Cuz you're having a sleepover!"

"But I've gotta go to my dad's tonight!"

"So tell your dad you need to do an assignment on the computer and you're spending the night!" Stewie said.

"Yeah," I said. "Besides, I've gotta be home in ten minutes."

"But what do I when Will comes back in the morning?" Jessica asked.

"Call Lindsay," I said.

"But what if they don't show up until after we leave for school?' Lindsay asked.

"Minor details," I said. "Come on Lindsay, we better hurry. Come on, you two. We need to get out of here and now before you're found out."

Lindsay and I crept out the hall with nods of good luck form Stewie, and we ran out the front door quickly and quietly as possible. We ran down the stairs and into my car.

"Where are we going?" Paige asked, falling into the backseat with Elizabeth.

"Just stay with us," I said. "That's all you need to worry about."

I thrusted the keys into the ignition and started the car as fast as I could. Then I started down the road along the playground, made a circle, and headed up Pittsburgh Street and eventually the hugunjo hill.

"Is it the same house that we landed in last year?" Elizabeth asked.

"No," Lindsay said. "My grandma and I moved up to Fourth Street near Erica. We're almost neighbors!"

I pulled into Lindsay's grandma's driveway, and we got out, ran on tiptoes to the house, and Lindsay got us inside. I called my mom to let her know I was on my way right now, but then there's that lucky turn of events…

"Lindsay! School's been cancelled for tomorrow!" I said, walking into her room. She was getting nightclothes out for Liz and Paige who were standing beside her.

"Really?" she asked. "Sweet…"

"Yeah! Power outage… weird, huh?"

"You mean lucky," Lindsay said, pulling out her black and pink star pajamas and handing them to Paige who looked rather scared to be honest.

"Lucky? Well yeah…" I said. "We needed that one… Oh, and I can stay tonight and help you. I asked already and I knew you wouldn't mind the help."

"Call Stewie and let her know," Lindsay said. "Tell her to come up as soon as Jack and Will come back and that I'll leave the back door unlocked so she can get in."

"Okay," I said. "We'll be in the living room, right?"

"Yeah," Lindsay said. "We can't all fit in my room."

I picked up the cordless again and went downstairs to call Stewie and set up the living room for the four of us. I came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of Doritos and into the living room where Lindsay was on the couch, and Elizabeth and Paige were on the sleeping bags in front of the television. I sat next to Lindsay on the couch as we watched the end of Save the Last Dance (it was on TV lol).

But instead, we went on jabbering about all of this…

"Well, you can only stay two weeks at most because of the ruby," Lindsay said. "But I'm not even sure what we're gonna be able to do with you for just two or three days…"

"You can't be left alone," I said.

"Don't you trust us?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, we just mean we don't want you to order pizza and the pizza guy start a mob at my house and it burns down before I get home from school," Lindsay said.

"Any ideas then?" Paige asked.

"We'll improvise," I said. "What we do best. But it's gonna be really hard…"

"Nah," Lindsay said, turning off the television. "Passing gym is harder."

"Whatever…" I laughed. "What are we doing tomorrow anyways?"

"Well, we still have to get dresses for the Christmas Dance on Friday, so maybe we'll go to the mall and we can go to Divito afterwards like we planned," Lindsay said.

I nodded, and I got on the floor next to Paige and covered up in a blanket.

"Okay, sounds good enough," I said. "I asked Holly today in school if she was going to Divito, too, and we'll probably see her there."

"Mmm'k," Lindsay replied.

She stretched and yawned, falling back into the pillow she was using on the couch. She covered up, too, and shut out the light on the stand next to her.

"You two comfy enough?" I asked Elizabeth and Paige.

"We're fine," Elizabeth said. "Really, you've been more than hospitable."

"Not such big words!" Paige said. "We're not but humble pirates!" she said, quoting Barbossa. I was surprised she did seeing as we had just gone through a whole mass of chaotic Barbossa slaughtering this summer… Okay, so one Barbossa isn't a mass slaughter… big whoop! We still worked our butts off to kill her!

At that, Paige smiled at us and fell back to the sleeping bag giggling. Elizabeth looked from me and Lindsay, and we just smiled innocently. Lindsay then laughed a bit.

"I take it she read that book I gave her for her birthday…"

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- Ta da! Chapter One!

Calm down, Jack! You'll show up soon!

Please Review! xoxo


	2. What about me?

(A/N – Well, Here I am in the CAHS Library typing chapter two with Jack! He's playing Motor Cross Mania just like all the other guys… -rolls eyes-… Well, enjoy this chapter!)

Oh hail, the majestic Reviewers!

x) Choco Donut - OMG! I miss you s0o0o0o0o much! I'm glad you've started reading! It might be a bumpy next few weeks though with the musical, but good news! I have today off! lol... I should get far into ch.3 or even done with it! Thanks so much! Again, glad to have you back for this one!

x) pirate tomboy - Hey! haha... how have you been? You've started to read this one, too:) I'm so happy, lol. Thanks for reviewing!

.: I feel like Mardi Gras! Woot! –throws beads to everyone:.

**CLE – "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional**

- Look! Another Disclaimer! Bo0o0o0o0o0o….

- The Steelers may have lost to the Pats, but the Pats still SUCK. And I own ppl: Lindsay, Jessica, Holly, Paige Castrella Madrine (Lillian Paige Barbossa), Miss Isabelle Garrett, Thomas Pikes, and a few more soon! (More will come later; new and old!) Sorry Patriot fans, but you're goin' DOWN.

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CHAPTER TWO: "What about me?"

I just woke up, eyes not open yet. Had a good sleep til I remembered last night. I scrunched up my face and rubbed it. Well, now what?

I opened my eyes, and my face was about three inches from… hey! Jack! I screamed and he sat up as I jumped into a sitting position. He chuckled, and Stewie appeared behind his shoulder laughing.

"God, Stewie! Give me a heart attack!" I said, clutching my chest.

She just laughed as Lindsay moaned and sat up off the couch.

"Geez, Erica, you have a big mouth…" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Jack and Will are back," I said, blinking to overcome my surprise wakeup.

I looked beside me and found that Elizabeth and Paige weren't there. And it suddenly dawned on me that Will wasn't in the room either.

"Where are they, Jess?" I asked.

"In the kitchen making breakfast," she said, throwing a thumb over her shoulder. At this, Lindsay sprang off the couch and ran like lightning into the kitchen tripping over the sleeping bags and blankets.

"They can't cook, Stewie!" she yelled as she did this.

"Well they gotta learn sometime!" Jessica laughed.

I went to get up, and Jack extended a helpful hand to me. I smiled and took it (of course). When I was up, I hugged him tightly.

"Ho, what is it?" he asked.

"It's a hug," I said. "You know-"

"Aye," he said, sighing. "But It's only been a right five months…"

"Four and half," Jess said, coming up to us, "but who's counting?"

I laughed, and to me surprise, Jack gave me an awkward one-armed hug.

"Missed ye, Grace," he said.

"What about me?" Jessica asked Jack.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her.

"What about ye?" he asked.

Jess dropped he shoulders, and Jack laughed.

"Ye're a trip, Mary…"

_CRASH!_

"No!" we heard Lindsay moan from in the kitchen.

"Boy I sure do miss you guys," I said sarcastically to Jack as I started for the kitchen shaking my head. Jessica was right behind me as we rounded the corner, and Jack peered around over us.

I – busted – a – gut. Elizabeth was covered from head to toe in Bisquick batter as Paige sprayed her with the sink sprayer; cat food was all over the floor along with a spilled jug of milk, and Will was spinning around clueless in a pink lacey apron covered in flour with a spatula in his hand. Lindsay was running around like a nutter. She took the sink sprayer from Paige after she got sprayed and put the fire in the skillet of sausages out and slipped in the cat food and milk, taking Elizabeth down with her after grabbing her hair as she fell.

"Holy crap, Lindsay!" I laughed as we went over to help her and Elizabeth up. "You ok?"

Lindsay got up, clutched her head, and sat in a chair at the table.

"No…" she moaned.

"Aw, come on, lassie," Jack said. "Not like he knew what he was doin'."

"None of them did and now I get stuck cleaning up this… damn mess…"

She sighed and threw a potholder on the ground in frustration, and Stewie and I took a seat on either side of her. Paige looked over at me with a frown, but then her face lit up. She went over and grabbed Will's arm bringing him over slowly to the table.

"Jane, have you seen Will lately?" she asked. "He's obviously not feeling well…" Lindsay looked up at the flour-covered pink-aproned Will and let out a laugh.

"I give up!" she said, standing up. "You pirates are too much…"

"You mean not enough," Elizabeth said with a smile.

Lindsay moaned pathetically and went over to the closet and started pulling out mops, brooms, stuff like that.

"Well, let's get to it," she said, tossing me the mop. "Then we can have breakfast." She thrusted the broom into Jack's hands and he eyed it. Then he looked up at her as she gave Will the rags and cleaner.

"Err… not to be rude…" Jack began, walking up to Lindsay, "But- oof!"

_CRUNCH!_

"Oops… sorry, Jack," Lindsay said, after spinning around and knocking him to the floor with all the milk and cat food. "Now! Some rules… Rule one! These items are not edible. Rule Two! We are _cleaning_, not making more of a mess. Rule Three! Well… there is no rule three. So, any questions?"

"Aye-"

"Raise your hand!"

Jack bent his brow and Stewie and I showed him how and he nodded, raising his hand.

"Yes, Jack?" Lindsay asked.

"Got any rum?"

"No. No rum. Now get to work!"

Jack scowled and started muttering under his breath as he swept. Then he gave a big sweep that hit Lindsay and she spun around, and when she did, Jack only looked the other way.

- 30 min later -

As we cleaned, Jack, Will, Elizabeth, and Paige went on explaining all about the Governor and that…

"So when the snots get their pants all up in bunch 'bout it, all eyes are suddenly on meself and Lily," Jack said.

"Did Norrington say anything?" I asked. "I mean, after this summer, you two've hit it off as friends, right?"

"Don't say his name," Jack said sharply.

"What!" I asked.

"Jack still doesn't like the idea of Norrington saving him," Paige whispered to Lindsay, Jess, and me. We smiled, but Jack kept sweeping.

"We did think of going to him, but everyone would've overruled their innocence," Will said.

"That sucks," Lindsay said.

"Big time," Elizabeth said heavily. "So, we decided to get Jack and Paige out of here, leave the Pearl with Anamaria, Gibbs, and Thomas, and leave Arielle in the care of Estella."

"Norrington know you went hiding?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, but we didn't tell anyone where," Will said.

It was quiet a bit longer as we finished up.

"Cool, we're done," Lindsay said, putting the mop in the closet.

"So now what?" Will asked.

"We eat," Paige said. "But since we sort of destroyed your kitchen… which we're sorry about by the way…"

"Not a problem," Lindsay said. "We're sort of used to it since these clowns showed up. Heck, we even missed it."

"Clowns?" Elizabeth asked.

"Don't read too much into it," I whispered to her.

"What were you saying?" Stewie asked Paige.

"Oh, well… we could go to a tavern or whatever you have here?" Paige suggested.

"A restaurant?" Will asked. "Like that one place from last summer?"

"Haha… Wendy's…" Stewie laughed.

"Well, we could, but why don't we just get stuff at Mark's and eat at the playground?" I asked. "We do it all the time, so why change it now?"

"Erica, we get junk at Marky's to eat," Lindsay said. "We don't get meals."

"So? It's just food…" Jessica said.

"Oh, come on," I said. "It's cold, but we can still walk."

"Walk? Cold? How cold?" Jack asked as we went to get them changed. "How cold? Hey! I'm talkin' to ye, Grace!"

- 20 min later -

After Elizabeth, Paige, and Will got into some normal clothes (according to our definition of the word 'normal'), I grabbed my car keys (since Jack's a big baby) and we left for Mark's to grab a few snacks, and then to the playground to reunite Jack, Will, and Elizabeth with a little friend…

The car wasn't even stopped when Jack and Will got out of the car staring in disbelief. I knew this was pandemonium and totally sheer stupidity on their behalf, but we seemed to be making some sort of sport or tradition out it. Paige was a bit clueless on the subject of Jack, Will, and the 'Demon of Barbossa,' but Elizabeth, Lindsay, Stewie, and I had to say little before she laughed and understood.

"It's a metal squirrel?" Paige laughed as we got out of the car.

"Yep," I said. "Pitiful, isn't it?"

"And you found the ruby in the squirrel?"

"Yeppers," Lindsay said. "But this is a new one the playground put back in after they mutilated the first one." We made for the picnic table that was covered by a small old roof. We threw our 'rum' jug out of the bag along with the salt and vinegar Pringles and Combos cream cheese. Those are what make our world go round.

"Most of our memories are here," I told Paige.

I looked over at Lindsay and Stewie who nodded as Elizabeth leaned against the one post laughing.

"What is it?" Jessica asked.

"The Demons Jack and Will are about to open fire on your rocky squirrel," Elizabeth said as we walked up beside her.

"Better seats!" Lindsay yelled, bounding over to the blue swirly slide with the three of us quickly on her heals. She climbed to the top with Stewie, Paige, and I behind her as we pushed her forward to see more, but Elizabeth just sat on the bottom edge of it while smiling up at us.

"How's Thomas been?" Lindsay asked suddenly. Oops… I sort of forgot about him… lol…

"Oh, he's been on the ship with us," Paige said.

"Has he been bad?" Lindsay asked with a half-frown, half-grin smile.

"Huh?"

"Has he been seeing other girls?" Stewie clarified. "Like, romantic like."

"No, of course not," Paige said. "We should've brought him back, but I guess we sort of forgot."

"Can-"

"AHH! It's rebelling!"

We looked over at Jack's cry to see Will rolling on the ground try to pull it out of the ground by its head as Jack bashed it on the head with his sword, but then we just kept on ignoring them.

"Can he come back?" Lindsay asked.

"Dunno," Paige said.

"Let's wait a bit," I said. "We'll go get our dresses for the Christmas dance tomorrow night, then we'll go and get him."

"Sounds good," Jessica said. We spent a few minutes clueing Paige in on what the Christmas dance was, and she was so excited to hear that she was going with us.

"We're gonna get all of you nice and dolled-up for tomorrow," Lindsay said. "You'll look great!"

"Yeah, but then there's Jack…" I said looking back over at them. They had it ripped out of the ground now, and were giving a few more effortless beats as they skulked back over to us looking quite exhausted.

"So, you think he's gone for good?" I asked with a laugh as Jack sat on the ground with Will beside Elizabeth.

"Aye, Grace, I do," he panted.

Then Stewie started tapping my arm fast and gesticulating as she always did when she had an idea.

"Oh, Jess wants to tell us something!" Lindsay said. "What is it, Stewie?"

"Let's show 'em the tree!"

"Which one?" I asked.

Jessica sighed hopelessly at me.

"Our tree!" she yelled, about to fall off the slide.

"What?" Paige asked in confusion.

"Oh! Okay…" I said.

"Look out, Lizzie! We're coming through!" Lindsay said.

The four of us went down the slide, and Lindsay, Jessica, and I bolted around the tennis court over to our tree with the others close behind.

"Do ye ever… not run?" Will asked, leaning against the tree.

"Yeah, but we're hyper right now," Jessica said, starting up. "Duh!"

"Welcome to Tree de Little!" Lindsay said loudly as she began up.

"How did ye get a name like that?" Jack asked, watching Stewie and Lindsay climb.

"Well, Isle de Muerta is French for 'Island of Death,' so Tree de Little is 'Tree of the Littles," I said.

"Ah… French are evil!" Jack spat.

"Désolé, je ne parle pas l'anglais!" Lindsay yelled down as I went up into the tree after Paige. I laughed, but Jack just stood there clueless.

"What?"

"She doesn't speak English," Will said, coming up next. Jack's jaw dropped.

"I always knew ye were a eunuch, Will!" he yelled.

"Oh, shut up and come up," Jessica said from her high branch. Jack rolled his eyes and allowed Lizzie to go before him, and dang! I didn't think this tree could fit so many people in it comfortably!

"Don't see too many trees like this round our parts," Elizabeth said.

"Nope," I said. "Don't see many things anywhere that you see here."

"It's freezing cold," Paige said, clutching Lindsay's coat closer to her. "How do you stand it?"

"It's our little secret," I said.

"Aren't we supposed to get snow tomorrow?" Lindsay asked. "Like, enough to cancel the dance?"

"Nah," Jessica said. "Snow won't start til the dance is at least halfway over…"

"Snow?" Elizabeth asked. "I haven't seen snow in such a long time…"

"Oh, believe me," I said, "it either snows like crazy or snows one inch."

"Which sucks since we don't get school cancelled unless there's a lot," Lindsay said. "And that only happens every two years…"

"Yeah, but we've been doing pretty good lately," Jess said.

"Well, good or not, this blacksmith is pretty hungry," Will said. "I could go for some decent food other than… that stuff…"

Lindsay glared at him, quite offended.

"It's not stuff!"

"Yes it is…"

"Butt out, Jack!"

"No, so _nyaeh_!"

"I'm getting out of here…"

"No! That branch isn't!"

_CRACK!_

"Will!"

_THUD!_

"Ow…"

"-sturdy!"

"Shut UP, Jane…"

Lindsay and Stewie turned to go back down out of the tree with Elizabeth and Paige right behind her. Jack jumped out being the impatient little thing he is, but I left with the other girls.

"You didn't break anything, did you?" Lindsay asked as we walked over to Will. "Arm? Leg?"

"I'm fine…" he moaned.

"No, cuz ye're still a eunuch," Jack said. "Evil French gits…"

"Ooo…" Stewie groaned. "I'm craving French fries…"

"Well, it looks like we should be off to Bigham's then!" Lindsay said.

"Uh, Lindsay? Do you remember the last time we took them there?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but Paige hasn't been there yet and they might like to see the new game room!" she said. Oh, that is a good thing…

Maybe…

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- Anyone remember Bigham's? lol…

Time for sleep… yes, in the middle of 3rd period! zZzZz…

Please Review!


	3. Not Parsley!

(A/N – Oh my gawd, it's like a new chapter, yo! LoL… You guys can so tell I'm bored, right? Oh well. Being bored is what brought me to you guys, so I'm thankful for boredness! Except when I don't have any writing utensils nearby… then boredom sucks. Jack agrees, don't you Jack? He feels the exact same way; just replace the writing utensil part with rum…)

Oh my starry-eyed Reviewers!

.: We're gonna dance all night! Dance all night to this DJ, we're gonna… :.

CLE – "Nookie" by Limp Bizkit 

Man, Disclaimers are so dumb.

But I like Claimers. They rock me socks! LoL…

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CHAPTER THREE: "Not Parsley!"

"Hello everybody!" Lindsay shouted as the seven of us burst through the front door of our favorite little hangout place. "Long time no see!"

"All right," Michelle said, eyeing our little bunch. "You brought us some people for the game room."

"Yeah," Lindsay said. "You remember Jack, Liz, and Raoul," she said, indicating to each of them, "and this is Paige. She's new." I laughed when she said 'Raoul.' I had almost forgotten about that totally. Man, good times, good times…

"Right," Carol said, setting her cigarette in the ashtray next to her before getting up and walking down to the cash register in front of us. "Alright girls, what'll it be?"

Lindsay and I hopped on two barstools at the counter and we all leaned over a menu.

"Two orders of cheese fries definitely," she said.

"With extra cheese," I said.

"Cheese? Where?"

"Calm down, Jack," Stewie laughed.

"What's a funnel cake?" Liz asked.

"Ooo! We'll take four of those!" Stewie said immediately. "And a basket of sour gummi worms!"

"And peach rings," I said.

"Don't forget the Pepsi," Lindsay added. "Hey, what about a Wings and Things basket to split?"

"Cheese sticks?" Will asked.

"Yeah! Those too!"

"And we've got our rum," Lindsay said.

"Ooo! Get hot wings! Hot wings!" Jess said, jumping up and down.

"Aww, but I wanted butter and garlic…"

"Girls! Girls!" Carol yelled, interrupting us. "Do you really want _all_ of that?"

We looked back down at the menu, reliving the last minute and all of the food we had asked for. Dang. We sound like freaking pigs.

"Well, you can take off the wings," Stewie said. "And make all the candy to go, please."

"Sounds better," Carol laughed. "Usual booth?"

"Usual booth," I said.

"Okay, we'll have it back there to you in a bit," she said, ripping off the paper from the pad and heading back to the kitchen with Michelle to fill our still quite large order.

"This way!" Stewie shouted, pointing into the dark doorway at the back of the room. We followed her into the very small dining area and right to our booth, the one right in the light of the doorway, second one on the opposite wall. Stewie slammed into Will and Elizabeth on one side while Paige, Lindsay, and I crammed into the other. Jack was left standing, and we all laughed at him. It was like he was gonna dive on top of us or something, so we leaned towards the wall laughing more.

"And just where and I to sit?" he asked.

"Floor," Lindsay said, pointing to it. We all laughed even more, though Jack didn't really. So, feeling bad for him, Paige and I went out to Michelle and asked for a blanket from her car to use. Upon our return, Paige and I saw no one at the booth, however.

"Where are they?" she asked, laying the blanket out in front of the booth.

"Two guesses," I said, first turning to my right. "The little one-person bathroom," – then I turned to my left – "or the game room. My guess: the game room, even though we'd probably get as much enjoyment out of cramming into the bathroom."

Paige chuckled as she followed me three steps through the doorway that led to the game room. We passed up the racing games and jukebox which was already blasting 'Nookie,' the song Lindsay played every time we went down there (I don't know why… ask her when it's her point of view). I looked to my left and they weren't at the crane machine or ski ball table, so I looked in the wider space to our right, and there they were teaching them how to play pool at the lone pool table.

"Running out on us, huh?" I asked, clicking on the traffic light in the corner for fun.

"Sorry," Lindsay laughed. "We're teaching them pool."

"Ha, good luck…"

She gave me a look before continuing her lesson. "Anyways, you basically shoot the balls into the hole with the white one. It's called the cue ball. You line it up and shoot for a hole."

"Shoot?" Jack asked. "That's simple enough." He whipped out his gun and clicked it to take aim on the cue ball, and a worried looked crossed our faces.

"Not like that," Stewie said.

"Then how?" Jack said.

"With one of these," Lindsay said, pushing a stick into him hard as she rolled her eyes. Jack made a face as he stood upright, giving Lindsay a look behind her back like he was gonna whap her over the head with that stick.

"Jack, behave," Stewie, said, wagging her finger at him. Jack smirked at Lindsay before switching the stick to his other hand and eventually handing it to Will.

"I don't like this game," he decided, starting to walk away. I looked back at Paige, Lindsay, and Stewie.

"We'll stay here and teach Will and Liz," Lindsay said. "Stewart, you're with Will, I'm with Liz. We'll team up."

"Super Stewie, AWAAAAY!"

I laughed, looking back over at Paige. "Wanna go entertain Jack?" I asked.

"Sure," she said. "Where did he go?"

We started back towards the dining room, and Jack was just about to go through the doorway when we caught him.

"Jack!" I said, stopping next to the jukebox. "Come here."

"What?" he asked, walking up to us.

"Come on in here," I said, walking towards the wall. Paige was confused, but they finally saw the dark arch leading into a small room. It was longer and narrower, like a 5 x 12 room. I went to the back and clicked on the spinney color disco ball for light, and they looked at the front of the room, seeing a huge dartboard on the wall.

"Okay, Jack," I said. "This not only requires aim, but sharp pointy things," I said, walking up to the dartboard and taking the six darts off of it. Jack's eyes got a little bigger. Well at least I have his attention now.

"Sharp pointy things, eh?" he asked.

"Yeppers," I said. "Just throw it at the little red circle in the middle of the board." I said, handing him the blue-feathered darts. Paige got the red ones.

"Watch this," Jack said, stepping up to the line, dart ready to fire. He moved his arm back and forth a few times before releasing it. It hit the dartboard, but then it fell to the ground. I stifled my laughter.

"Well, Jack… that was, um…"

"Oh my god, that sucked!" Paige said, starting to laugh uncontrollably. I stared at her a minute before I started laughing myself. Suddenly, however, Lindsay came flying into the room.

"Li-"

"Take cover!" she screamed, pushing us out of the doorway to the back of the room. We lined up against the wall and just before I was about to ask what this was all about, five pool balls were fired through the door into the wall as we screamed and covered our ears. The balls left dents in the wall, and after some silence, Lindsay decided to check if the coast was clear.

"What was that for?" I whispered to her.

"Shh." She leaned over, looking out the door a bit.

_WHAP_

"Ow!" she screamed, withdrawing back into the room. "My nose!"

Then, Elizabeth's head came around into the room as we looked for an explanation, and she looked down at us. She looked murderous, but then she knelt, feeling apologetic upon seeing Lindsay.

"Oh, sorry," she said. "I thought you were Will."

"Why are you chasing Will with a pool stick?" I asked in confusion.

"He's cheated me out of a turn," she said.

I shook my head and got up with Jack and Paige, and we looked out the door, being cautious not to become victims of pool-related violence. We stepped outside and made our way to the pool table. We stood there feeling very afraid when we saw Will standing on the pool table acting rabid with Stewie cowering under it.

"Erica! Jack! Paige! Save me!" she yelled, uncovering her head only for a second. We looked back up at Will who was throwing his stick around. I was beginning to think I was in a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon alternate reality.

"WILL! What are you doing?" I asked. He stopped, jumping off the pool table.

"Elizabeth and I got into it," he said. "Oh, sorry, Mary. You can come out from under there now. I'm done."

"Thank god," she said, slowly getting up. "You about took my head off."

"Well I think Liz just obliterated Lindsay's nose from her face," I said uncomfortably. "Smacked her square on it at lightning speed."

Will and Stewie both made grotesque faces at the sound of that, and suddenly we heard Carol shouting from beside our booth: "Girls! Food's ready!"

We all stampeded for the booth, Jack, Will, and Liz volunteering to all sit on the floor. Out of their kindness, we gave them a whole think of cheese fries to themselves. Of course, Jack is hogging the little bowl of cheese…

"Jack, didn't your mother ever teach you to share?" Lindsay asked. "Give some to Liz or I'm taking it!"

"My mother's dead," Jack said right back. "And I'm a pirate, not Robin Hood."

"Which one of you taught him about Robin Hood?" I asked incredulously. Stewie's head lowered across the table, and I needn't ask more.

"Okay "Jack, since you can't share, hand it over," Lindsay said, leaning out of the booth with an outstretched hand. Jack arched his brow.

"You want it?" he asked mischievously, holding up the bowl and picking up some cheese on his fingers. "Here."

He threw a huge glob on Lindsay's face, and we all started laughing really hard. Lindsay looked a bit shocked, but she got revenge but throwing her entire glass of Pepsi on his, accidentally getting Will and Liz a bit, too. Jack pitched a fit.

"No!" he bellowed. "Not Parsley!" He was rolling around like we had melted him or something, and then a food fight became inevitable. After five minutes, Liz, Paige, Lindsay, Stewie, and I ran for the one-person bathroom and crammed inside at the mercy of Will and Jack. Inside, we had fun with foamy soap.

"Is there any way we can go to your dad's and clean up?" Stewie asked. "I don't think the foamy soap is gonna cut it.

"Yeah," Lindsay said, catching her breath. "You and me will run down to see if anyone's there first, then we'll go back and get ready to go to the mall tonight."

"Sounds good," I said. "The rest of us'll just stay here and clean up."

"Good idea," Lindsay laughed. "Come one, Stewie."

When we left the bathroom, Jack and Will were informed of our plan of action, and Lindsay and Jessica ran down the road to her dad's. We stayed back to clean up our food mess and the game room.

"Jack, could you go around and get the pool balls and but them back inside the table?" I asked. "Don't forget about the ones in the dart room."

"Aye," he said. "What about the dents?"

"What dents?" Michelle asked, cutting into our conversation as she passed by the dining room from the kitchen.

"Dents?" I laughed nervously. "Not dents as in hitting something and leaving a dent, but… dentures…" I said slowly.

"Dentures?" Michelle asked skeptically.

"Yeah," I said. "Jack has dentures and doesn't like to admit it, so he refers to them as dents instead." I hoped she would buy it, and she eventually just walked away with an unsure look on her face. I sighed. Shwoo…

I walked over to the claw machine and saw a pool stick leading beside it and decided to collect those. Paige found one cracked in half, so we ducked away into the dart room and taped it up, putting it behind all the other sticks once we returned them to the corner. Shh! No one saw it!

Elizabeth helped Carol and Michelle clean up our booth and the surrounding area with mops and such, and eventually Paige joined her. Will, Jack and I played Nookie one more time as we finished up, and it didn't even take that long. We even had a few minutes to spare.

"Okay!" I said, hopping into one of the racing video games. "Jack, let's see how well you can steer."

"I can steer just fine," he said. "I don't need this thing to help me."

"Sure, you can steer a ship," I said, "but can you steer… a car?"

We all looked at him before he jumped into the seat next to me.

"Put in the money and let's go," he said, adjusting his seat and gripping the wheel. I laughed as I popped the quarters into the slots and we started driving. Jack was pretty good, but he lost.

"Haha, I win," I said, getting up. But Jack grabbed my arm, setting me back down in the seat. I was a tad surprised.

"What're ye talkin' about?" he said. "We didn't have round two yet."

I stared at him a moment, but he was serious.

"Put the coins in, lass! Let's go!"

"Okay" I said, pulling out more change.

-5 minutes later –

Jack was starting to scare me.

Elizabeth, Will, and Paige started backing away a long time ago (smart people). He won every game after I beat him the first time and only lost once. We played another six times before he lost again, and then he went crazy, threatening my life if I didn't produce four more quarters. Thank god Lindsay and Stewie showed up.

"Hey! Go Jack!" Stewie laughed, coming into the game room.

"Lindsay, help me. He won't quit," I said.

When the game was done, we had to pretty much drag Jack out of the game room. He was hooked on the game, and I was scared. Elizabeth eventually slapped him and he snapped out of it. We walked out into the front to leave.

"All systems go?" I asked as Stewie and Lindsay as we left the little dining room. Lindsay nodded, leaning on the bar in front of the candy stand.

"Roger that," she panted. "My dad called while we were there and said that he wants me home tonight by ten since we have school tomorrow. I told him we were going shopping and then out to Divitio to meet up with Holly. That's right, isn't it?"

"You have it down pat," I said. "Let's go."

A quick goodbye to Carol and Michelle and a five-minute walk landed us at Lindsay's Dad's, and we ran upstairs to Lindsay's room, hooking two right turns at the top. We all changed except for Jack, the hardhead, and Lindsay started applying some make-up to us all like it was some sort of make line or something.

"She does do a good job," Elizabeth said, admiring Lindsay's work when she was done with her.

"Well, I'm going to be on the make-up crew for the musical this year," Lindsay said from the bed where she was working on Paige.

"Yeah, well I'm directing it!" I said. "Bwaha!"

"Oh no, help me," Lindsay said in a flat, bored tone.

"Oh, liven up," I said. "You're no fun."

She sighed. "Well, we ready to go?" she said, capping the eyeliner she was using on Paige.

"You're done already?" Paige asked.

"Yeah," Lindsay said. "You're pretty enough, and we're in a hurry to get to the mall. It's almost one."

"Okay! Everyone to the Sunfire out front!" I said, grabbing my purse and keys. "Vamoose! Go!"

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Hope you liked it! Jack and I shall see you in Chapter 4!

Please Review!


	4. Hurry up!

(A/N – Okay everybody! Guess what time it is? Little kids: 'It's Howdy Doody Time!' LoL… sorry, on a bit of a sugar rush, short on time, and a million other things to do! Lots of school work as usual but I'm still procrastinating and refusing to do it until I get an update to you guys! See, I love you!)

Reviewers, reviewers, reviewers, oh my!

.: Hehe… Wizard of Oz… Gotta love it… :.

CLE – "Switch" by Will Smith 

Disclaimers galore…

But we love Claimers more!

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CHAPTER FOUR: "Hurry up!"

All the way up to the mall we were uncomfortably crammed inside of my little Sunfire, but to pass the forty-minute ride, we sang. And no, not to the radio, though we pretended we were.

"Yo ho, yo ho! A pirate's life for me!" we all yelled.

"Turn it up!" Lindsay laughed as we pulled into the Food Court parking lot at the back of the Westmoreland Mall. So we sang louder as I pulled into a spot close to the entrance. It was mildly busy, but go figure… sixteen shopping days left til Christmas (not counting Christmas)!

We piled out of the car and walked onto the sidewalk and into the mall's jam-packed Food Court. We ran over to an empty spot and discussed our plan of action.

"Well, we have four hours ladies and gents," I said, looking at my cellphone. "It's almost two now and we need to leave at six. In this allotted amount of time, we must find attire for the Christmas Dance tomorrow night and buy Christmas gifts for each other. And eat General Tso's Chicken and Beef and Broccoli from that cheap but delicious-smelling Chinese stand." I said, pointing to the Chinese place behind Will and Elizabeth. The all looked at it then back at me. "Now, we will be splitting up at some point and returning to an appointed base to meet. Suggestions on the location of this base?"

Stewie raised her hand, jumping up and down.

"Admiral Stewart," I acknowledged.

"Ooo! The Chinese Place!" she said excitedly. "Tables right in front of it!"

"Great," I said. "We split up and rendezvous back here at 17:00 hours for a one-hour dinner break. Any questions?"

Jack raised his hand, and I almost laughed. But I held my General-like posture.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Why are ye talkin' all funny?"

"Next question!" I said.

Lindsay spoke up. "Don't we have to find dresses, too?"

Oh yeah.

"Okay, we'll meet at JC Penney's at 15:30 hours!" I said. "Next question!" But there wasn't any, so I continued on rambling. "Okay! We split up! One pirate elder per Little – but Paige gets to pick who she wants to go with."

"Ooo! You're with me!" Lindsay said, wrapping her arm around Will's. He gave her an unsure look before smiling finally.

"I get Jack!" Stewie yelled, pointing at him and running up to his side. I could tell Jack was absolutely _thrilled_ about that one, but I think I was the only one who pretty much noticed.

- Lindsay's PoV -

Well I noticed it, too…

- Erica's PoV -

Well, okay. So maybe I wasn't the only one. Anyways, that left me with Elizabeth, and Paige to make a decision.

"Well, who's it gonna be?" I asked.

"I think I'll come with you two," she said, walking over to me and Liz.

"Okay," I said. "Cellphones on, peeps?"

Lindsay and Stewie both held theirs up, and I did too in the same fashion. In unison we pocketed them after turning them on.

"All right!" I said. "Systems are go, rendezvous at JC Penney's for clothes shopping at 15:30, and then back here at the Chinese Place at 17:00 hours for dinner. Any more questions?"

"Do you take requests?" Stewie asked.

"What?" I asked, dropping my General act.

"Stop with the military time and let's go!" she shouted with a laugh. I smiled, too, and then looked around at everyone. Hmm… seems to be a mind reading conspiracy… they all looked like they were happy that she had said something. Oh well. Fine. Who needs 'em?

"Okay, fine. Shove off!"

We all sped off in different directions, doom upon us…

- Lindsay's PoV -

What doom? Haha…

Anyways, me! Yay!

Will and I had fun in Hot Topic for about twenty minutes (and I bought all but one of my presents there) before crossing the path of Spencer's Gifts. I had to go in. So I did. I dragged Will to the back of the store where it was all dark and they had all the black lights and glow in the dark crap goin' on. Awesome place. Go there. They play Linkin Park and System of a Down! You better go there! I'm tellin' ya-!

Okay, I had a dilemma. And it was a big one.

I had everyone else's gifts except Paige's in the two Hot Topic bags in my hands. But what do you get for a teenager in the seventeenth century?

Hmm…

Ooo! Strobe light!

"Perfect…"

I picked it up off of the shelf and looked back at Will who was staring at a lightning disc next to the UFO light and the green and blue fire neon light. He then looked at all the glow in the dark stars around us until he saw me.

"Oh, hello," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Ready?" I looked at him and could tell he felt uncomfortable. I almost laughed but decided that would be mean. Well, normally I'd do it, but this was Will.

"Yup," I said, starting to make my way to the cash register. I could tell Will really wanted to get out of here… he was walking so fast that he was stepping on my heels every few steps, but he apologized. I just laughed. He must really be creeped out.

I walked up to the register and sat my blue strobe light on the counter for the guy to check me out, and oh… my… god…

He is so hot!

And man, I sure was checking him out! Shwoo…

Chad… I love that name!

Nametags are da bomb…

"Would you like to purchase a Spencer's Gift Card?" he asked in a bored voice after scanning the strobe light. "It's a great way to let that twisted someone you know that you're thinking of them this holiday season."

Man that was so rehearsed.

Must be mandatory.

"Uh, sure!" I said, grabbing four off of the little stand on the counter. "Thanks Will!"

"What'd I do?" he asked in confusion.

"You just bought me, Paige, Stewie, and Erica twenty bucks worth the gift cars each for Christmas! You're so sweet!"

"I don't have money!" he said incredulously.

"Okay then, you owe my eighty dollars."

"Huh?"

I laughed as I pulled out my wallet, but then I died. I only had sixty on me. Just as he bagged up the cards and strobe light, I had an idea.

"Thanks, Chad," I said, leaning over the counter and coming inches from his face. He looked pretty shocked. I still wanted to laugh. He opened his mouth to say something as he looked away for a minute, but then he said, "Can I call you later?"

I smiled. It was working!

I pulled out a scrap thing of paper from my hoodie and he gave me a Sharpie, so I wrote it down real fast. I handed it to him slowly.

"There you go, babe," I said. I took my bag and leaned away from the counter now as he looked at it. "Call me later. Maybe we can… hook up." As I left the store with Will, I looked back and waved at him with a suggestive look. His eyes got big, and he looked at my number again.

Haha… yes. Success!

- Erica's PoV – 30 min later -

Elizabeth, Paige, and I had just finished enjoying a pretzel and slushy each from Aunt Annie's soft pretzel counter since we didn't really bother to eat that much at Bigham's. We were walking down the right side of the mall towards the Sears department store that went on both levels of the mall. We got on the escalator going downstairs to Border's Express so I could look in it for a bit.

"Bookstore, huh?" Elizabeth asked as we threw our stuff away outside of the store and walked in. "The bookstore in Port Royal isn't even half this size!"

"You've been in the bookstore in Port Royal?" Paige said.

"There's a bookstore in Port Royal?" I asked.

"Yes, there's a book store, and yes, I've been in it," Elizabeth laughed as we walked back to the fiction section that was across from the cookbooks. "Only recently, though; after Will and I got married I was actually able to walk around the town without an escort or a care."

"Cool," I said. "Well, look around a bit. See if you can find anything that looks good."

"What about this?" Elizabeth asked, looking at a copy of _A Tale Of Two Cities_. I just stared at her a moment before walking up to her side slowly.

"Um, let's try something else," I said. "Like this." I picked up _Four Past Midnight _by Stephen King and placed it in her hands, taking the dreaded Charles Dickens away. And yes I handed her the copy with Johnny Depp on it! What other copy is there? Haha…

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah!" I said. "Mystery galore and psychological thrilling! You can't possibly pass this one up."

"We, if you insist," she said, walking away and flipping through it.

"Oh, I insist," I said, nodding to myself.

Paige was looking through a few Meg Cabot books as I slipped on down and around the shelf to the other side to find the new Harry Potter book for Lindsay. She would love it. I grabbed the nicest-looking copy and browsed about a bit for anything good, and I ended up picking up a book or two for myself that looked interesting. About twenty minutes later, I rounded up Paige and Liz.

"Want anything?" I asked Paige with a laugh seeing six of seven books in her arms. She laughed, too, sitting in a nearby chair.

"Just a few," she giggled. "They all looked so good! Some of them sound very strange but exciting, and I don't know when half of then take place, but especially like these two that take place during my century," she said, showing me them. I laughed.

"Figures."

- Jessica's PoV – 1 hour later –

Jack and I had such an awesome time! I bought all of my gifts from those cool little island store carts all over the mall in the hallways, plus I had my Hot Topic stuff! I always get stuff from that store! Anyways, Jack and I were getting ready to meet the others upstairs. We got looks all day, including from the family that we were sharing the elevator in the middle of the mall's fountain with. Sheeze, what are peoples' problems?

I stepped out of the elevator first when it stopped on the upper floor with my five bags. I waited for Jack to come out after the family, but –

Hey! Wait! _Five_ bags? I had six! And that was my Hot Topic bag with the Happy Bunny shirt in it! Oh no! I'm screwed! That was my new favorite shirt! I kept recounting my bags just to make sure I was missing it or being delirious as Jack walked up beside me.

"Lose something, darling?" Jack asked. I looked back at him quickly and he held up my missing Hot Topic bag on the end of his finger. I smiled, clapped my hands, and took it from him.

"That's the one!" I said happily, taking my bag and throwing it into my other hand with the other five. I sighed. "Well, now I think we better get going to Penney's… we've got about ten minutes."

"Wait," Jack said, grabbing my upper arm before I could start walking. "Isn't that Jane and William?" He pointed over to a bench next to the fountain where sure enough, the two of them sat tossing pennies into it and at each other. They had lots of bags around them, and they had food, too…

"Come on, Jack!" I grabbed his shirt and started pulling him up the steps to the bench where they sat. They noticed we were there finally as I started at the chocolate-covered coffee beans in Lindsay's lap.

"What?" she asked while her mouth was full of them. I practically gasped at that, and she laughed as I grabbed a handful.

"So what have you two been doing?" Will asked.

"Shopping," I said, throwing all the beans in my mouth.

"We've been wreaking havoc," Lindsay laughed in a mischievous voice. "Will and I left Spencer's without paying after I hit on the cashier and it's been crazy trying to hide his good looks from the female population."

"Fangirls, huh?" I asked, taking more coffee beans. "Icky."

"Super icky," Will said. "I've had countless girls throwing me looks and asking for my number and giving me money saying that they'll see me tonight! Elizabeth would kill me!"

Lindsay and I burst into laughter as Jack screwed up his face. In the middle of our laugh-fest in which Will felt like scum of the earth, a girl with pretty long blonde hair came up to us snapping her gum with a big smile. We finally became aware of her.

"Hello, miss," Jack said. "Can we help ye?'

"Oh yeah!" she said, waving quickly. "Hi! Uh, my name is Danielle, and I wanted to speak to him." She pointed to Will quickly. She had the voice of an annoying person. One I'd like to punch. She just annoyed me. Thoroughly.

"Me?" Will asked, sitting up on the bench.

"Yeah."

Will rolled his eyes. "What?" he asked impatiently.

"Well, um, my friend Stacy over there," - she turned around and we saw two girls standing by the column, one with dark hair and the other with lighter brown – "well, she wanted to know if she could have your phone number."

The three of us looked at Will expecting him to flip out. He looked at her a moment biting his lip with anger, but then he let it go, raised his eyebrows, and sat back into the bench.

"Okay, sure," he said.

The Danielle girl smiled really big as she took out a small tablet and pen. We stared at him in shock. Then the annoying girl that I was moments from punching handed the little paper tablet to him and he scribbled on it real quick before handing it back to her with a smile.

"Thanks," she said, taking it back looking absolutely thrilled. "She'll call you tonight, okay?"

"Sure, great," Will said. "Tell her I'll talk to her then."

The girl went back to her friends practically skipping, and we rounded Will again. Lindsay and I wanted to pounce on him!

"Have you been doing that all day?" I asked incredulously.

"No. I just decided to do it this once," Will said.

"Whose number did you give her?" Lindsay asked.

"Mine," Will said.

"You don't have a phone number!" I said hysterically.

"You're right," he said. "But he does." He pointed the Verizon guy cardboard cutout standing next to the Reebok store holding a phone with a speech balloon that said: 'Call Today! 1-800-Verizon and be good.'

Man, that's cheesy…

But effective!

"Hey guys." I turned around and came face to face with Paige, almost smacking her in the face when I did. We laughed, now noticing Erica and Elizabeth coming up the stairs to the fountain platform.

"Ready to go dress hunting?" Erica asked.

"Yup!" Lindsay said. "Come on, Will!"

- Erica's PoV – 5:30 PM -

We had such a blast dress shopping for the Christmas dance… you would not believe it, but we found four of the exact same dresses in different colors! They were plain and simple; spaghetti straps on a dress that came just above the knee. Cool, huh? Lindsay took the red one, Stewie claimed the black one, Paige liked the white, and so I got the green. It was really sweet.

But none so sweeter than that of Beef and Broccoli at the Chinese Place at the Food Court afterwards! Huzzah!

Oh. Liz got a dress, too. It was a black halter with a skirt that was wavy at her knees and had little red and green accents all over it. It was stylish! Haha... And we got Will a green sweater and black dress-up pants. Jack was uncooperative as usual, but go figure that one…

So anyways, we grabbed one thing of beef and broccoli at the Chinese Place before we went, so portions were small amongst the seven of us. Had we gone to Double Dragon, one plate could feed us all and some! What a rip off…

But! We had time to make it to Divito Park and meet up with Holly. So after trying to shove unimaginable amounts of bags in the trunk and in the car, we were on our way to Divito… a place where disaster only awaited…

DUN DUN DUN…

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Yay! I hope you all liked that! So follow the yellow brick road and…

Please Review!


	5. Are we there yet?

(A/N – Bwahaha! The musical is over now (tear…sniff…)! It was soooo fun! And great! Considering we almost blew up the stage manager and Lumiere during the fourth show with an explosive fire work and caught costumes, wigs, and curtains on fire, it was great! On to the next! I'm also rewriting the first story, Buried Treasure, for fun. But the original is the original… no other way to have it!)

Who loves Lumiere, Reviewers?

x) pirate tomboy - Thanks! I love the mall period, and now, you get to read one more pointless chapter. Story plot picks up in ch. 6/7... but anyhoo, enjoy! Thanks for the review!

x) Kitty and Kenny - Thank you! My bday was alright, considering school was cancelled and I had 8 hours of musical practice... I'd rather have practice than school anyways! Wouldn't you? lol... Thanks a bunch and I hope you like this chapter!

.: I know I do… lol… Thank goodness he's ok:.

**CLE – "American Idiot" by Greenday**

Oh, I hate disclaimers WITH A PASSION! Okay, resume your normal reading.

I claim everyone that's not with/related to/ or from PotC! MINE! lol…

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CHAPTER FIVE: "Are we there yet?"

"We'll just eat there," I said for the millionth time as we drove by McDonald's in a hurry.

"Grace!" Paige moaned from between Jack and Stewie in the back seat. "That's the fourth place you've passed! I'm starving! We established this back at the mall!"

"Don't worry," Will said from next to Stewie. "We will or I'll help you hurt her (Yeah… Lindsay's in the passenger seat, Liz is between us, and Jack, Paige, Jess and Will are crammed in the back seat lol)."

I looked back at him, but Liz just shook her head.

"He's grumpy when he's hungry," she said, looking back at him with a glare. "Ignore him."

"But Paige has a point!" he argued.

"Rest it, mate," Jack said. "If there's no rum, there's nothin' good…"

"Well, it's not my fault it's state law that fast food restaurants can't serve alcohol… that's the state store's business," I said.

"So let's go to one of 'em!"

"We can't! We'll miss meeting up with Holly!"

"That name's familiar…"

"For the hundredth time," Lindsay said, "She's the one with the blonde hair from the summer before last. Only now her hair's shorter, and she had a tiny nose stud."

"Yep," I confirmed. "She cut it sort to dye it black, but she dyed it blonde again… we missed it…"

"Aye! That crazy lass!" Jack asked. "She's a character…"

"And my best friend!" I said.

"Are we there yet? I'm hungry…"

"Paige, shut up! You're making me hungry!" Lindsay said.

"I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry, just be quiet!"

_STOMACH GROWL_

"I told you to be quiet!" Lindsay shrieked.

"I'm sorry! I'M HUN-GRY!"

At Divito -

"Okay, don't go crazy or scare anybody or start a fight," I said after we paid and got in. "Rules are strict here."

"Nice place ye got here," Jack said. "Lots of… color and… music."

"Yeah… der…" Jess said.

"All right, the ice rink is to the left, roller rink to the right. Which do you guys wanna try first?" I asked.

"I wanna watch," Lindsay said as we walked back to our favorite table.

"Me too," Stewie said, sitting down.

"Aww, but I want you to help me teach them to skate!" I said.

"If you teach them, you'll be teaching us too cuz we suck at it!" Lindsay laughed.

"But you aren't that bad…"

"Yeah, we are…" Jess said.

"Well at least come in and watch," I pleaded.

"Watch what?"

I turned around, and there was Holly. I hugged her since I haven't seen her in forever, and she just stared at Jack, Will, Liz, and Paige.

"Erica! You brought Johnny Depp back!" she squealed excitedly as she jumped up and down.

"Shh shh shhh…" I said as eyes drew towards us.

"Holly, shut up unless you want another repeat of the Racers," I whispered.

"Oh… yeah…" she laughed quietly. She walked up and just looked at them happily.

"Did you shrink?" Will asked.

"No!" Holly said, offended.

"Oh… okay…"

Holly sneered at him and then looked at Paige.

"I don't know you," Holly said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Paige," she replied.

"Oh! You're Barbossa's daughter from the summer thing in the Caribbean! I so wanted to be there! It sounded cool…"

At that point, Jack, Will, and Liz threw us sharp glares, and we bit our lips. Hey, I couldn't keep that a secret! I'm sorry! I tell her everything!

"Eh heh… cool isn't the word I would use," Paige laughed nervously.

"Holly! Big – mouth." Jessica said.

"Um, err… sorry. I'm Holly," she said, shaking her hand.

"Yes, Paige is just like us," I said. "She knows about everything we talk about, ect, ect…"

"Sweet," Holly said.

"I got her that book-"

"Oh, I know all that," Holly said with a laugh.

"Aye, but me wonders how ye know and why…" Jack said glaring over at me again. Can we stop with the how stink-eye thing? I'm getting a bit scared…

"So, did you wanna help me teach these losers how to ice skate? You taught me, and I'll help," I said.

"What about Stewie and Lindz?" she asked.

"We'll come watch from the bleachers," Lindsay said.

Once we got settled with five pairs of rental ice skates (Holly has her own pair), the eight of us went into the ice rink. Lindsay and Jessica climbed up the bleachers at the top and brought a deck of cards to pass the time. Holly assisted Will and Elizabeth with the putting on of their skates while I got landed with Paige and Jack.

"These are the most – uncomfortable – things – I've – ever – ehh… worn," Jack said after tugging on his skates with great difficulty. Paige and I laughed as she finished lacing hers up.

"I'm going to fall, aren't I?" she said with a smile.

"'Fraid so," I laughed. "But it won't take you long to catch on. You catch on pretty well for having our book memorized and played out this well."

"I can't stand up in these!" Jack shouted. He stood and flailed his arms to keep his balance, but he just fell to the bench again hard and loud. Paige however, had made it to the standing position and was taking a few steps.

"Aw, it doesn't seem that – whoa – hard…" she said. But a few more steps proved bad seeing as she tripped over someone's foot and fell flat on her face.

"You ok?" Elizabeth asked, bending over to help her up. She had tripped over Will's foot, and by the looks of things, Lizzie was pretty good at balancing these skates. Will stood up, too; his balancing not that bad, but man did Jack need some work…

Well, then there's the escapade of taking them out on the ice to actually have a whack at it…

"AHHHH!"

_THUD!_

"Ow…"

Jack had slammed into the glass passed me and Paige who stood shivering in the back of the rink (T'was our hangout spot that night).

"You ok, Jack?" I yelled.

"Aye…" he moaned.

Paige laughed with me as Elizabeth skated in a circle around us and her blue scarf flew around with her.

"This is fun," she said with a satisfied tone. "I'm not half bad, you think?"

"You're doing great," Paige said. Her khaki pants I had lent her had wet spots on them from a few falls, and she had on my old pink sweater that was hidden under a light brown corduroy coat that was also wet. Liz did a few more circles around us and skated off.

"You just bring your legs around, dig this toe into the ice, and spin around into your stop," I heard Holly say. I looked over to my right and saw Holly and Will along the side of the hockey pit thingy. Will tried to spin into a stop as I had learned a few years before, and he was sort of successful.

Paige and I skated over to them and sat in the hockey pit dugout thing to watch. I didn't see or hear them, but Lindsay and Stewie had run around the rink, and they had just popped up beside us scaring me half to death.

"It's not so hard," Will said, seeing himself do it for the first time. "Though I think Elizabeth's got a natural knack for it."

"Roller skating's easier," I said.

"That's because you're good at it," Lindsay said, making a snowball from the ice shavings in the booth.

"Well, you do learn basics for ice skating there," Holly said. "Like motions and everything to skate leisurely."

"So let's hit it!" I said.

THUD!

"Ow…"

Jack's face slid down the glass next to us until he hit the ice.

"Come on, Jack! We're doing something else!" Jessica said as Holly and Will helped him up.

"Must we?" he moaned.

"Yes…"

"But I don't want to…"

"Come on, I'll help you this time," I said.

Through the lobby… changed our skates, into the roller rink, yada yada…

"How can ye stake backwards when I can't even go forwards!" Jack yelled as I guided him around the rink. I had his hands and pulled him slowly, but he still stumbled like a fool.

"Aw, c'mon, Jack!" I said, letting go off his hands. "This is nothing!"

"For you!" he said.

Well, Liz wasn't too hot on roller skates as she was ice; Will was even worse, and Holly, Jolly (Jess), Lolly (Lindsay), and Polly (Paige) were sitting on one of the big carpeted boxes at the front off the rink off the skating floor. I helped Jack skate off the floor to the box where everyone else was recuperating, and we collapsed on the floor after a fast skate.

"Wanna put our shoes on now?" Holly asked. "We can play cards or something."

"Good idea…" I panted.

We went out into the lobby and got our stuff out of the lockers. Lindsay, Holly, Will, and I went through the line for the snack bar to get some nachos & cheese and some drinks while Stewie got Jack, Lizzie, and Paige ready to play cards. We returned to the table (Lindsay, Holly, and Stewie crammed in one side of the booth, me, Paige, and Liz in the other, and Jack and Will had to stand on their knees at the end of it) with all of the stuff, and then we decided on Truth or Dare – Smoke or Fire.

"Easy enough to play," Lindsay explained (LE GRR!). "Black cards are smoke, reds are fire. If you get smoke, it's truth, if fire, it's a dare." Everyone looked a bit apprehensive to play now… especially with the five of us teenage girls glaring around the table at everyone.

"But, I'm going to ask you if you want Smoke or Fire. Then I'll lay the card down. If it's what you called out, you're skipped and spared…" Lindsay said evilly.

"And if you guess wrong you just get to do whatever the card is," I said.

"Can't we just play Rummy?" Jack asked.

"No. And being the first to speak, you've volunteered to go first," Lindsay said. "Smoke or Fire?"

"Huh?"

"What's it gonna be? Will it be a black or a red card I flip?"

"How should I know?"

"Guess!"

"Guess?"

"Yes!"

"What color the card will be?"

"Yes!"

"The one on top?"  
"YES ALREADY!" Lindsay yelled.

"Okay! Calm down, lass…"

He stared at the cards in Lindsay's hand.

"Come on, Jack!" Jessica said.

"Alright! Red! I pick red!"

"Fire then?"

"What?"

Lindsay glared at him dangerously.

"Oh, aye… whatever… fire… red…"

Lindsay flipped the card over and slammed it down on the table loudly. It was fire; he was spared!

"I say he should still do it!" Lindsay said.

"No, he guessed right, he's safe," Elizabeth, said.

"For now," Lindsay growled, sneering at Jack. She turned towards Jessica, took a deep breath, and said, "Smoke or Fire, Stewie?"

"Smoke!" she chirped (_WHAP!_ "I'm not a bird!" Okay! I'm sorry, Jess!) piped happily (Better? "Yes. Thank you.").

Lindsay smacked the card down; it was fire. Stewie stamped her foot down ("Ow! That was my foot!" "Sorry, Elizabeth…"), and we laughed at her sealed doom.

"Ooo… dare…" Lindsay said.

"Do your worst!" Jessica said.

"Okay! Anyone got a suggestion?" Lindsay asked, looking around at all of us.

"Make 'er walk the plank!" Jack yelled.

"Eat 30 mustard packets!" I said.

"Lick the table!" Holly said.

"No," Lindsay said. "Impossible, gross, and lame," she said pointing to each of us who had issued suggestions for a dare.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Will said. "You said this place closes at ten; you've got fifteen minutes."

"Ooo… dilemma, dilemma, dilemma…" I said. "Well I see nothing out here of interest. Wanna see if we can find something for her to do in the roller rink?"

"Make it the ice rink and we have a deal!" Paige said.

"Fine, ice rink," I said.

We got up and abandoned our table of nachos & cheese to start on the trek to the ice rink. We opened the doors and got blasted with cold (no surprise there). No one was in there except two people taking off their skates and Doug, the owner, was driving the zamboni (the giant ice rink cleaner-thingy-mabobber).

"Whoa… what is that?" Elizabeth asked as we went up to sit on the bleachers.

"Zamboni," Holly said. "I want one of those!"

"Me too," I laughed. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

"It's big," Jack said. "And loud."

"What's the difference between you and it?" Paige asked.

"Hardee har har, lassie…"

"Hey! I have your dare, Stewart!" Lindsay said.

"What is it?"

"You have to drive it."

"Drive what?"

"The zamboni!"

"What?" Will asked.

"Yeah… as soon as Doug leaves."

"Lindsay, you're gonna get us kicked out! She can't do that!" I said. "You're nuts!"

"And for a perfectly good reason, I assure you," Lindsay replied. "And besides, it was a dare. She has to do it."

"You get too many people in trouble with this game, Jane," Jack said.

"Can I take a chicken?" Jessica asked.

"No. No chickens."

"But I don't wanna get kicked out!"

"You won't!" Lindsay said. "Now go! Nobody's here now."

We all looked up, and the zamboni was indeed off and Doug was gone.

"I don't wanna…"

"Come on, Jess! How many more chances are you gonna get to drive a zamboni?" Lindsay asked. "You know you want to…"

"Mmm… ok!"

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Oh wow… What will become of us?

Well, you'll find out in the next chapter (as if that weren't obvious)! It's now Sunday and I'm sorry it's taking forever to update but there's this little huge problem called my graduation project… yeah, even Jack's going crazy! Well, cya!

Please Review! I'll update asap!


	6. Midnight munchies!

(A/N – Phew boy! This Grad Project stuff shouldn't be _too_ hard… I mean, I type six pages for one chapter single-spaced, and the Grad project's gotta be between 4 and 6 pages double-spaced! That's not too bad, right? But still, _this_ is fun and _that_ is school…)

Feel my pain, Reviewers!

x) Norma Jean the Dancing Machine - lol Hi pirate tomboy. Bleck... I'm not to wild about mustard, but rum and Jack, Hell yeah! Haha.. thakns for reviewing! Enjoy!

x) Kitty and Kenny- ?

.: Actually, it doesn't hurt that much, but who wants Sunny D? Yum… :.

**CLE – "Numb/ Encore" by Jay-Z and Linkin Park**

I only have one word to say to you stupid Disney people and that is-! Disclaimer… CRAP! Jack! I thought you blocked this word from the computer?

I own my peeps and junk not with the PotC scene/ gang…

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CHPATER SIX: "Midnight munchies!"

"Jess! Stop!" I yelled as she and Lindsay ran for the ice. They went out into the middle where the zamboni was, and they both climbed on.

"What are you doing, Jane!" Paige yelled.

"I'm riding! Come on!" she called.

The six of us at the edge of the rink looked at each other.

"I say if we're gonna get kicked out, we do something worth being kicked out over!" Jack said.

We stared at him.

For a long time.

A really long time.

So long, we had no other things to say about how long we stared.

"I'm with him!" Holly said, grabbing his arm. "We're getting thrown out anyways, right?"

"Mind as well have fun while we do it," Paige said, standing next to Holly.

I smiled. They had used my philosophy against me.

Cool.

"I'm in!" I said. "Let's go, Liz! You know you want to!"

"No, not really," she said.

"Will?" Holly asked.

"I'll pass."

"No ye won't!" Jack said. We started running and picked up Liz and Will as we ran through the tiny door and onto the ice rink. We all clambered on, and what the heck am I doing!

"Hang on!" Stewie yelled.

She turned the key and shifted it into gear, and we started moving.

"Oh my God!" I yelled.

"Wooooooohooooo!" Lindsay screamed, standing up next to Stewie. "Yeah!"

"Getting that thrill?" Holly asked.

"You know it!"

We were getting close to the front of the rink now, and I went up next to Lindsay and Jessica and said, "Turn, Stewie! We'll hit the glass if you don't!"

She tried to turn the wheel, but it was locked. At this, I grabbed it and tried turning it, but no good.

"AHHH! Turn it! TURN!" Jack yelled as the others rushed up around the wheel.

"It won't!" Jessica yelled. "We're gonna –"

_CRASH!_

We shattered the glass walls surrounding the rink and now we were heading right for the blue brick wall in front of us.

"Abandon ship!" Jack yelled.

"Too late!" Will said.

"DUCK!"

_SUPER HUGE CRASH!_

We bulldozed through the huge wall screaming, and it finally came to a stop there before going into the half-empty parking lot. We heard a crowd starting to gather and Doug was yelling his brains out.

"Bail?" I asked.

"Let's," Lindsay said as we all jumped off the zamboni and dashed for the car as fast as we could.

"Holly, you're with us," I said. "You think your mom'll mind if I bring you home instead of her coming to get you?"

"More than likely, but I don't know… my phone's still in the locker in there," she said.

"Well, run in and get all of our things, and we'll leave," Lindsay said.

"You're leaving me here!" Holly yelled.

"No! Get our things and then come back to the car and then we'll leave to take you back home. You could spend the night, but we have school tomorrow…" I said.

"OoOoOo… ok!"

I hour later -

Well, I had taken Holly out to her house in Dawson, and then we took another road that didn't go pass Divito to get to South Connellsville where the three of us lived. Stewie's was the first stop, and I turned off the car as I pulled up to her house.

"Jess, hold on a sec," I said before she could get out. "We sort of got these losers to deal with," I said, pointing to the back seat where Jack, Will, Elizabeth, and Paige were squished together.

"Yeah, where do they go?" Lindsay asked from between me and Stewie. "I can maybe see if I can get my grandma's place for the night again, but she's off work the rest of the week."

"Ooo, can't have that," Jessica said. "I can sneak maybe Paige into through the basement, but that would be super iffy."

"Everything's super iffy!" I said. "I sure has heck can't. I got a three year old and a twelve year old for siblings and parents with good hearing. Not gonna happen."

"I'll chance it," Lindsay said. "My dad'll be asleep when I get home, so I can maybe sneak them into my room and lock the door. We'll just have to leave early for school is all and sleeping is gonna be tight if you guys don't mind."

"It's fine," Lizzie said. "We'll have to if we're such a big secret."

"Ooo, bigger than you think…" I laughed nervously. "Lindsay, you sure?"

"Positive."

"Ok," I said. "Tomorrow, all of you be up and ready for six A.M. sharp. If your parents ask any questions, we're going to McDonald's for breakfast before school. We have no choice but to bring them with us."

Everyone gave me this look…

"Well how do we do that?" Jessica asked.

"We'll work that out tomorrow at breakfast," I said with a smile. Jack smiled and leaned forward suddenly.

"Does breakfast have rum and cheese?" he asked eagerly.

"Erm… sure, Jack. There'll be rum _and_ cheese," Lindsay said. "But first, let's through the night in one piece, huh?" she said, patting him on the shoulder.

Lindsay's PoV – Her Dad's House -

Yeah, that's right! More of the star…

Erica drove down to First Street, and I looked down the line of small apartments along the right side of the road. My dad's was the first one passed this nicer one, and Erica stopped just beyond my dad's big white van.

"Is he awake?" she asked. I looked up, and the house was dark.

"Looks like it," I said. "You four stay on the porch until I make sure he's asleep, ok?"

"Aye."

"Ok."

"Got it."

"Sure."

"Good, now come on, and don't say one word, make one peep, objection, sound, knock anything over, or stub your toe because it's bound to happen because we're trying to sneak in," I said.

"Ye got lots of rules, darling," Jack said as I pulled him out of the back seat.

"Shh…"

"Be careful," Erica said after all of us were out of the car. "Remember, ready to go by six and keep quiet. Good luck."

"Luck? We don't need luck…" Paige said, waving her off. I giggled as Erica drove off up the road to go home.

"Come on," I whispered, pulling Will with me to the front porch as the others followed. I unlocked the door and poked my head inside. It was dark in the living room. I looked into the kitchen straight ahead looking for light coming from upstairs, but everything was dark. I opened the door wide.

"Is it safe?" Will asked.

"Yeah, but you follow me," I said. "Be quiet."

Through the living room, kitchen, up the stairs…

"Go right," I whispered, pointing in the direction of my room. I looked to my left right at my dad's door and I heard loud snoring, but really, that didn't mean much. I turned and there are two doors; the one in front is the bathroom, and another right put me in my room. I held the door open and the four of them stumbled into my room.

"The bed is right there," I whispered. "Sit down and don't move!"

I slipped inside, went over to the stand beside my bed, and I clicked on the little lamp. It lit my whole room dimly, and gave me enough to see that the four of them piled on my bed in a human knot.

"Come on," I said, pulling them apart. "I told you I have a tiny room…"

"So how's this work and all?" Jack asked.

"Well… Paige and I can curl up in a ball on the bed; two of you can lay long-ways on your sides, and one of yinz (gotta love Pittsburgese… it's our language lol) can sit against the door."

"That'd be me spot," Jack said, taking a seat right in front of my door. He tipped his hat over his eyes and leaned back into the door silently.

"Guess we get the floor," Liz said.

"Yeah, and you two better behave," I said, wagging my finger at them with an amused smile… Ha ha… I am _so_ hyper right now. This had to be the worst time for me to be quiet with four pirates who didn't know any better. I sat on my bed, kicked off my shoes, and pulled on some pj bottoms. I left my Nightmare Before Christmas hoodie on because I was being lazy and I was perfectly comfy just like this.

"All in favor of the light going out say aye!" I said.

"Aye!" Jack, Paige, and Liz said in unison.

"Will?" I asked.

"Huh? What?"

"Do you need the light on?"

"Oh, no."

I shut it off and rolled up in a ball hugging my pillow. Paige was doing the same I guessed. I smiled as I thought the night over. I was so hyper! Not good! Suddenly, I heard Will's stomach growl and busted out laughing in my pillow. It takes so little to set me off! I swear! SUGAR!

"Aren't we trying to be quiet?" I heard Jack say, directing that question towards me. I sat up and turned on my lamp again.

"Will, do you need some midnight munchies?" I asked.

"Midnight munchies!" Jack said, sitting up away from the door and pointing at me. "I like it! It reminds me of cheese!"

"Who knows, maybe there is!" I said. "Who's hungry?"

"Whoa, what happened to stay low, be quiet, and don't stub our toes?" Paige asked, sitting up next to me.

"We are," I said. "We're just getting a snack."

"Jane, we can't be found out," Lizzie said.

"We won't," I said, standing up. "Paige and I'll go raid the kitchen, that is if Will's stomach wasn't growling and it was gas in which case we can give him Bean-o."

"I'll stick with the munchies," he said, sitting against my little dresser.

"Mmm'k! 'S'ko, Paige."

"But-"

I grabbed her arm and took her outside of my room. She glared at me from what the light coming from the bathroom window would allow me to see, but I just whispered "Come on," and led her down the stairs.

"Jane-"

"Shh! We're invisible…" I whispered. We stepped over the gate that we had at the bottom of the stairs so Trudy's dog Trixie doesn't go upstairs or downstairs depending on where we put her. Or, it was there to save Erica's butt from Trixie when we were going upstairs to my room. Haha…

We stepped over it, and Paige went over to the fridge and opened it.

"What are we looking for?" she whispered.

"Food."

"Well, what kind?"

"Doesn't matter."

I got a flashlight lying on the dining table and looked up in the cupboards. Pancake mix, canned corn, pasta, salt… what happened to all the good stuff!

Oh yeah, it's all up in my room…

"Grab the pop and let's go," I said.

"Pop? There is none," Paige said.

"Oh yeah, that's up in my room, too."

5:45 am -

I had gotten my shower, now I gotta get these losers ready. Well, there's no helping Jack or Will at the moment since I have nothing for them to wear unless they want bras, skirts, and my pimp moo-cow hat.

But Paige and Liz, they need some help…

They already had on my clothes I had lent them yesterday, but I made them change into new outfits. Paige was wearing one of my pairs of black baggy jeans and the red tee-shirt I wore last week with a tie. Nightmare Before Christmas tie. I love that. Liz had jeans and this graffiti shirt, and I was struggling and in a hurry to finish straightening her hair right now.

"Hurry, Jane!" Paige said. "We've only got fifteen minutes!"

"I'm trying! Are you all ready?"

"Aye!"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"No!" Liz said as I grabbed the last strand of her hair.

"Oh, shut up," I said. "I'm trying to do this right!"

Suddenly, I heard a knock at my bedroom door. We all looked up frozen, and I asked, "who is it?"

"It's Stewie! Come on!"

I sighed all relieved and everything. This sneaking out crap with four pirates from another world was really starting to take a toll on my nerves. I was jumping left and right at ever sound.

"Coming!" I whispered, unplugging the straightening iron.

"But-"

"It's time to go!" I said to them. "Remember what I told you last night when we were coming in or I will kill you before my Dad ever gets the chance to."

They looked scared, so I had reached them.

"Now let's go."

I opened the door and Stewie was standing there waiting quietly as the Jack, Will, Elizabeth, and Paige filed out behind me. Stewie lead the way downstairs and we hurried through my living room and out the door; myself the last, locking it after swinging my book bag over my shoulder and sprinting out the house. The back car door was open and I squeezed in with Jack, Will, Lizzie, and Stewie, where as Paige got to sit up front.

Damn.

I shoulda called shotgun.

"So, now what?" Paige asked as I slammed the car door and Erica started driving. "Jane told us the school doesn't open til seven and that even then we wouldn't get there til the late bell rang."

"Well, both schools open at seven but have two different late bells," Erica explained (AH! Look out! Erica's spazzin'!). "High school at 7:25, West at 7:40."

"Me and Erica got to the high school, but Stewie's still at West. It's her last year, though," I said.

"Which brings up what to do with the four of them during school," Jess said.

"Well, we'll go to McDonald's for breakfast like I said, and I've thought about it like mad and even lost sleep over it, but the only thing we can do is bring them with us," Erica said.

"Bring them WITH US!" I shouted. "No WAY!"

"Any other suggestions?"

"Well!- no."

"Jess, you can take Will and Liz with you," Erica said. "Lindsay, Paige is in with the juniors like me according to her birthday and all, so she's with us, and we've also got Jack."

"JACK!" I yelled. "But he'll be hitting on every teacher in the building and probably get arrested before the days' out!"

"Chance we take."

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Omg, this is the worst week of my life…

I'm lucky to even post since I feel so horrible. Lindz and Jess and I aren't really speaking and other stuff… want an idea of what I feel like?

Review! Sorry it took so long to update.


	7. Who's Pablo?

(A/N – Well, what a co-inky-dink! The day after I post, everything's in reset mode and I'm good to go with all my buds! I even went to Divito with Lindz, Jess, Holly, and Lori Friday, and I spent the night with Holly and Lori. We had fun righting a stupid little thing. Check my Xanga out for that. Link's in the previous chapter at the bottom but didn't show! See below. Got my Beauty and the Beast musical DVD today, also! Good stuff!)

I get to watch Lumiere tonight, Reviewers! YES!

x) Norma Jean the Dancing Machine - Oh, my reliable! lol... Everything's good now, so chill! Haha... More importantly, chill and enjoy the chapter. This is where everything starts to pick up, and I kick myself for not having it start sooner cause I think I've lost some reviewers over that. THE PLOT BEGINS NOW! WOOT! Thanks for the review (and the rum, too, by the way)!

.: I'm sorry, but he's one sexy candelabra :.

**CLE – "All Star" by Smash Mouth**

Even in this great turn of events, there's a disclaimer…

I own all my buddies and psychedelic friends not related to the PotC scene. I'm talking like a hippie because of these stupid fashion shows in French (that's why I'm working the camera), and I'm helping the 60's gang look funkalicious.

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CHAPTER SEVEN: "Who's Pablo?"

. Jessica's PoV .

Mmm… I love hash browns.

"Jess?" (I later found out this was Erica)

Yummy yum yum hash browns…

"Jessica?" (This one, too)

I love you, my little half-eaten hash brown.

"Stewie!" (But this one was Lindsay)

"Oh! What?" I asked, leaving behind my commercial-like slow-mo chewing moment. I love imitating them things…

"We're here!" Erica said as she turned into the drop-off place in front of the office instead of the cafeteria so's that me and Will and Elizabeth could avoid being seen for now.

"This is hopeless," I murmured. "I'm gonna be mobbed!"

"Why don't you just hide them under a staircase most of the day?" Lindsay suggested.

Hey, I like that!

"Ok!" I said, opening the car door to get out.

"Stewie!"

"Yeah?"

I ducked my head back in the car as Erica said, "Be careful, Stewie. We don't need a disaster. It's gonna be a long day, but just keep the Christmas Dance tonight in mind, ok?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Okay," I said.

Hey, that's right! Christmas dance tonight at the high school! So what if Lindsay and Erica are sneaking me in? How do you think I got to the Halloween Ice Cream Socials and other cool things? Well, Liz and Will came out, and we waved goodbye as Erica and Lindsay drove off.

My stomach could've dropped out.

"I can't do this…" I moaned.

"Oh, but we have faith in you, Mary," Will said, swinging him arm around me. "Maybe all you need is (dare I say it) a bit of sugar."

I smiled and started bouncing.

"Sugar! Yeah Yeah!" I said happily.

. Erica's PoV .

"Hey Lindz?"

"Yeah?"

"You really think Stewie will be able to stay out of trouble today?" I asked. "I mean, she can hardly do it on a normal day… without pirates."

"I dunno," Lindsay said. "You never know… Stewie might surprise you when you least expect it."

"Lindsay," I said sternly with the 'get real' look.

"Oh, fine," she said. "We're doomed."

"Why are we doomed?" Paige asked.

"Because Mary's a dipwadd," Lindsay said, falling back into her seat.

"Well, at least you got out ok," I said. "I almost got tripped up by my parents cause Jace woke up. I got out just before they came out in the living room with him."

"They didn't hear the car?" Lindsay asked.

"Well yeah, but they would've interrogated me like a criminal or something like that had they caught me before I left! My parents are like that, you know."

About ten minutes later we pulled into the student parking lot, and I shut off the car and turned to Lindsay, Paige, and Jack.

"More rules," I said quickly, and Jack and Paige moaned, falling back into their seats. "Oh chill out," I said. "It's not that bad."

"Yes it is…" Paige whined.

"Oh hush up," Lindsay said. "You get to go meet hot guys at the dance tonight, so shut up and listen."

"Fine, sheesh."

"Okay," I said, "do not speak unless spoken to-"

"Do anything we aren't doing-" (Lindsay said this lol)

"Don't punch anybody who annoys you-"

"Or bring out the swords or guns-"

"_Jack_-"

"That's what we're for-"

"You can talk to people we introduce you to-"

"Don't mention anything to embarrass us-"

"Especially the whole summer thing-"

"Sit as close to us in class as possible, Paige-"

"Jack, you'll be under a staircase hiding-"

"Stay away from the school pizza-"

"Though the soft pretzels are ok-"

"No sliding or jumping off banisters-"

"No daredevil stunts period-"

"And-"

"WAIT!" Jack yelled. "Time-OUT!"

The three of us stared at him.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"We get it," he said. "Let's just… get this over with, savvy?"

"Yeah," Lindsay said. "Oh, and try not to be so show-offy, Jack. You draw enough attention to you the way you're dressed and considering you are the idol of half the school, if anyone asks you to marry, date, or have sex with them anywhere, anytime, you are happily single and no money can buy your love."

Jack lifted his hand to interject his opinion as we got out of the car, but I knew what he would say, so I said, "Rum can't buy your love either!"

"How do _you_ know!" he asked.

"Oh, shut up and come on," I said. "We'll lay low in the library til the bell rings."

"Ap! Nope!" Lindsay said. "Can't without a pass from the librarian."

"You spoil everything," I said with narrow eyes.

"Well!"

So, we walked between these two buses and onto the sidewalk. I took a deep, half-praying that this wasn't happening when the kids getting of the bus behind us started gasping and emitting sounds of excitement.

"Walk faster…" I whispered as we started to go faster towards the door. It felt like I'd never reach those doors, but thank god we did!

Or maybe not…

Almost all eyes were on us when Lindsay and I opened that door. I wanted to disappear, but Lindsay nudged me in the arm, straightened her back, and put on her smile as she walked over to where we stood every morning. I smiled a bit and followed her and Paige with Jack behind me. We finally got to Josh and Chad (two junior friends of mine and Holly's; Josh is a Metallic/ Flogging Molly/ heavy metal kind of guy, and Chad is a quiet guy who plays the saxophone lol), and I almost collapsed.

"Hey, guys," I said tightly. "What's up?"

"Dude, is that who I think it is?" Josh asked, starting to laugh.

"Err… if I told you no, would you believe me?" Lindsay asked (she's better friends with his younger brother Zach who's a freshman like Stewie).

"Probably not," he said. "Who's she?" he asked, looking at Paige. "I don't know you. You new?"

"Yes," she said. "I'm Paige."

"She's my… sister…"

"I thought you only had one sister?"

"Her second sister in a way," Lindsay said, covering for me. "They've been together since… before they could even remember."

"Oh…"

There was a tight circle starting to form around us with louder whispers and more pointing. I really just wanted to disappear. But then, Holly suddenly appeared after squeezing through them all.

"You ok?" I asked.

"Forget that! You brought him!" she said, pointing up at him as she began to bounce in excitement. "Tell me he's hanging with us all day! PLEASE!"

"Ok! Shh!" Lindsay said.

"Ye really know how to draw on a wild mob of… what are they called?"

"Fan girls," Lindsay said quietly.

"Aye, ye know how to draw them on me really fast," Jack commented to Holly.

"Sorry, but you're hot!" she said.

Then she hugged his arm.

"Tell me ye're not related to Mary…"

"Call her Abby, Jack," Lindsay said. "That's her pirate name, though we wish you wouldn't call us by those names when we're here."

"Why? I call you Georgey," Holly said.

"Shut up," I said.

The circle was getting really close now. I was very uncomfortable.

"What's say we go visit my dad's cousin?" I asked, trying to cut a path so the five of us could get through. Once we had, I went around a corner with them.

"Why?" Lindsay asked.

"Well, Mr. Brown'll find it amusing number one, he'll help number two, plus we have him first period for East Cultural Geography! So let's go, huh?"

I grabbed Jack's hand and started tugging him along as Lindsay, Paige, and Holly followed. I just hoped Mr. Brown would help me! He loves me… I know he does! He (Ray's him name) and his brother Ronie who's a pastor far away up in Cranberry near Pittsburgh! Eh heh heh…

We went up the last set of stairs at the end of the hall and went down the first rung hallway (Okay, layout of the school looks like a ladder: two long hallways on either side with three small hallways connecting them. But downstairs, you got the gym, 'Music Hall' with band and chorus, library, yeah…). Then we went up the really long one til we got to room 237, my cousin Ray's classroom.

"Great!" I said. "Locked, dark, and not here!"

"Well, give him a few minutes," Paige said. "Maybe he just hasn't gotten here yet."

"Yeah," Holly said. "I mean, Riedman was late sometimes (he's our English teacher now; remember, this is set for next school year lol)."

"And he still is," Lindsay laughed.

"Well, now what?" Jack asked.

"Hey, looks like Miss Garrett's in her room," Holly said. "Ask her."

"Oh, but she's new," Lindsay said. "It's her first year. She's nice, but-"

"Well, Mr. Zylka (Zil-ka; short i, haha) wasn't gonna be here forever," I said. "Besides, I like her better anyways. Mr. Zylka was a good teacher, but a bit of a bore. He was ready to retire anyways."

"I had Cap-O (Cape-O)," Holly said, "so I wouldn't know."

"Well, come on," Paige said. "Let's see if he's here or not."

"Yeah, he does talk to her sometimes," I admitted. "We can check, I guess."

"You knock," Lindsay said.

"Me?" I asked. "But we're all good friends with her!"

"So? Go!"

"No, Holly can," I said, pushing her forward.

"No! Let Paige do it!"

"I don't even know her!"

"Jack!" the four of us chorused.

"Huh? Me?"

"Yeah! Go!"

"I don't want to go!"

"Go!" we said, starting to push on his back.

He arched it, so it was sort of hard to get him to go anywhere, but we persisted, us being hardheaded and all.

"Jack! Move!" Lindsay whined.

"No!" he said, trying to use the lockers beside him for help.

"Jack!"

"No!"

"Come on!"

"Go!"

"I'm not movin' and I'm about to-!"

"Can I help you?"

We looked around Jack to see that Miss Garrett, the new history teacher this year, was standing in front of Jack with her hands on hips. Okay, here's the description: very dark brown straight medium-length hair, 'bout 5'9", sorta thin, yeah…

"Err… hi," Lindsay said.

"We just wanted to know if you had seen Mr. Brown," I said.

"We're looking for him," Paige said.

"Well, who are these two?" she asked, looking at Paige and Jack, now with amused smiles.

"Um… this is Paige, Erica's step-sister who's visiting just for today," Holly said.

"And this is-"

"Pablo," Lindsay said.

We all threw her a look.

"Pablo?" I mouthed to Paige and Holly who just shrugged their shoulders.

"Who's Pablo?" Holly asked Lindsay.

"Uh, don't mind them," Jack said to her. "Captain Jack Sparrow at your service."

He extended him hand, and Miss Garrett shook it looking flattered and embarrassed. Yeah, she's twenty-four year old single pretty girl. Stupid person.

"Well, pleased to meet you, Mr. Sparrow," she laughed. "I assume you would be Mr. Brown's substitute for the day?"

Our eyes got big really fast and we were sort of silently freaking out while Miss Garrett stood there listening for an answer. The best she could get out of us was a twisted brow from Jack, and she smiled.

"Well, that was really nice of you to show him the way up to the classroom," she said to us, starting to lead him up the hall as we followed quickly on their heels. "I'll have to get a janitor with a master key or one from the office to open this," she said, turning the doorknob.

"Oh, well, h-he-"

"How long have you been teaching, Mr. Sparrow?" Miss Garrett asked him, cutting me off. Jack raised his brow and looked from the four of us to Miss Garrett not knowing what to say.

Lots of stammering, stuttering, and stupid looks…

"Um, that's not important," Jack said, clapping his hands together with a covering-this-whole-thing-up-really-badly smile. "I've got the experience; that's all ye need to know."

"Oh, well, this is my first year teaching," she said. "I'm Miss Isabelle Garrett, Mr. Sparrow. I don't believe I've ever seen you sub here before."

"Err… no. My first time here."

"Well, I'm sure you'll like it here!"

(While all this goes on, we are standing there just watching this go way too far like the stupid people we are. This is NOT good! Jack can't teach! What's the world coming to! Uh… GAH!)

"Sure I will," Jack replied.

"Oh! Well, there's the janitor!" Miss Garrett said. "I'll go get that key."

As soon as she walked away, the four of us grabbed Jack's shirt and pulled him down to us.

"Ow! What?" he asked.

"WHAT!" I whispered angrily. "I'll tell you what!"

"You can't teach!" Lindsay said. "At least not Geography!"

"But-"

"Jack, life is not about girls!" Holly said.

Then it dawned on me.

"Jack Sparrow, if you're doing this just to get next to our history teacher-"

"I'm not," said Jack, cutting Lindsay off. "Ye trust me and I trust ye. Calm down and let me do my thing."

"NO!" I said, outraged. "Don't even!"

"Look, I'm not after anybody, so stop it," he said, sort really serious. "Need I remind ye with the help of my friends?" ha asked, patting his sword and gun holster.

"No, that's good," Lindsay, said. "Just stop before you get in too deep."

"Calm down, Jane. I know what I'm doing, savvy?"

"Somehow I don't think so," Paige said quietly as Miss Garrett came back with the key to Mr. Brown's room.

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Mmm'k… TGIF! April 8th!

Happy 3rd Birthday Jace! (My lil brother) I love you! Crazy and busy week! Everything's been set good, I'm glad to say. The day after I posted everything was back to normal! Weird, eh? And the Beauty and the Beast DVD ROCKS! I love it! Well, cya!

Please Review! Especially if you laughed!


	8. Savvy?

(A/N – Okay, It's Saturday! I'm getting my permit today, and I just got done watching Napoleon Dynamite. Haha! We did a French fashion show Friday and had to do three skits, and one group did Napoleon Dynamite, so I had to see the movie after that. Believe it or not, the Geometry teacher at our school Mr. Rudnik looks JUST LIKE HIM. Hair, glasses, yeah… everyone jokes that Napoleon's his son lol… Well, let's get on with it, shall we?)

Vote for Pedro, Reviewers!

.: Haha… that movie is so screwed up! Probably why I like it, lol. :.

CLE – "In Too Deep" by Sum 41 

- I wonder if Mr. Rudnik likes tater tots, too? Oh… well, anyways, disclaimer…

- My non- PotC peeps are chillin' this weekend! Take a load off, guys; you need it. Who wants to come over and film a new movie? PotC Meets Napoleon? GASP. That would kick-arse.

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CHAPTER EIGHT: "Savvy?"

"Here we go," Miss Garrett, said as she opened the classroom door and pocketed the key. She stepped aside so we could go in, and Lindsay turned on the lights.

"Hmm…" Jack said, looking around. "Very interesting."

"If you come over here, Mr. Sparrow, I can show you the lesson plan," Miss Garrett said, rushing over to the desk and shuffling a bunch of papers around.

"Lesson plan?" Jack asked, walking up beside her.

"Oh, unless you don't follow one."

Jack looked really confused. Go figure.

"Well, I mean, sometimes I don't use a lesson plan either, but you might want to try to stick to what he's left for the students," Miss Garrett said. "For today anyways."

"Um, should we go now?" Holly asked.

"Oh, no!" Miss Garrett told us. "You have him first period, so you can stay and teach him the ropes of the class, get him settled."

"Oh, sure," Lindsay said. "Why not?"

I rolled my eyes. No choice as usual…

"Yeah, guess we could," I said with a heavy sigh.

"Well, I'll show him all this work Mr. Brown left, and then you can help once the bell rings."

"Ok," I said. Then I leaned in around Paige, Lindz, and Holly. "Conference…"

I pushed them over to the other side of the classroom as Miss Garrett continued to confuse the hell out of Jack over at Mr. Brown's desk.

"Guys, bad. This is very bad," I said.

"No, this was supposed to happen!" Paige said sarcastically.

"We so blew it…" I muttered. "We should've just locked them in the playground bathroom…"

"No," Lindsay said, waving me off. "We can handle this," she said, trying to convince us we really could do this. Psh…

"How?" Holly asked.

"We're- well, I was gonna say we're the Littles but you aren't and I didn't wanna make you feel left out or anything, so let's stick to we're twenty-first century American teenagers who know really hot pirates!"

"HUZZAH!" we all cheered with some laughter.

"Excuse me?" Miss Garrett asked, looking up from the lesson plan book she was showing Jack.

"It's nothing…" Paige laughed.

"Nothing?" Lindsay asked. "It's our…uh… oh, never mind! Huzzah!"

_BRRRRING!_

"Oh! That's the bell for the students to come inside," Miss Garrett told Jack, putting the book down and going over to the door to leave. "Now, there's a second bell to warn them to get to class, and by the time the third bell rings, everyone should be in class. If they come in afterwards, ask for a late pass."

Jack nodded throughout her fast talk as we heard loud chatter begin to fill the upstairs hallways. Miss Garrett told Jack to write his name on the board and introduce himself to each class, but turns out Lindsay wrote his name over the _entire_ chalkboard to be funny while some people started coming in the classroom.

"Dude, is he our sub?" this kid Steve asked, setting his book down and motioning out the door to where Jack was still talking to Miss Garrett.

"Yeah," I said. "He's just here for today…"

"What's with the get up?" another dude asked, coming in.

"It's not a get up," Holly said, quite offended.

"Yeah, that's Jack!" Paige said. "The best-"

"Wait, from that Pirates movie? The Caribbean one?"

"Not possible!"

"Oh my gosh, really?"

"No, he's just got the same name and he's mobbed a lot for that reason…" I said, starting to have an idea a lightbulb.

Oh, I could get creative with this…

"Poor guy's gone delirious from all the fan girls mistaking him for Johnny Depp," I said sadly as everyone started to come in and move towards us to hear the pity party story. "Suddenly he started dressing like the guy…"

Lindsay smiled. She was catching on.

"And because of all the trauma, he really thinks he's Jack Sparrow," Lindsay said solemnly as a few people gasped.

"But I thought that was his name?" one boy asked (you see, it's me, Lindsay, Holly, and this one other girl who is always absent and the rest are guys, so go figure! lol).

"If your name was Harry Potter and you looked just like the kid, would _you _like it if everyone was drooling over your feet just to ask 'do you really have that scar?'" Holly asked.

_BRRRRING!_

(Second bell. Never mind it.)

"No…" he replied.

"See, same's happened to Jack," Paige said, now in on it, too.

"So please, just humor the guy and don't be giggling or anything because he's sensitive," I said. "Not sensitive as in he wets the bed but sensitive as in he will take your head off."

"OoOoOo…" they all said.

"So humor him, huh?" Lindsay asked.

"Hey wait… how do you people know him?"

"Yeah, and who's the new girl?"

"Jack's my dad's college buddy and this is Paige," I said.

Everyone seemed cool with that.

All right! I may have just saved my butt!

"So, we cool with it?" Paige asked.

"Yeah."

"Sure."

"Can I have your phone number?"

Paige looked puzzled, but I just smiled and shook my head as I led her to sit in the seat to my right. Holly was to my left in class and Lindsay behind me; Paige was in the usual empty desk because this one guy moved at the beginning of the year.

_BRRRRING!_

Third bell.

Anyone that comes through that door now is late.

'Cept Jack, and he just came in and closed the door. He walked to the front of the class and looked us over. He nodded with his narrow eyes scanning everyone.

"Not a shabby lookin' bunch," he commented. "I'm told I get a new crew every 42 minutes?"

People looked around all weirded out.

"Yeah," Lindsay said.

Jack smiled when he saw us.

"Ah, didn't know I'd have _you_," Jack said to us. "Anyways ye bilge rats, my name is Captain Jack Sparrow. You will address me in now other manner. _Captain_. That's it. Savvy?"

Screwed up looks…

"Savvy?" he repeated.

"Aye!" Lindsay yelled. Holly, Paige, and I giggled.

"Wow, lass, contain yerself. Now um.. I'm supposed to call roll? Is that right?"

Some nods…

"Hmm… now where's that… Jane!"

"Aye, Captain!" she said, jumping up.

"I'll call out rank, you write it down."

"Aye, sir!"

Lindsay ran over to Mr. Brown's desk and opened the green grade book to mark attendance. She sat there comfortably and looked up at Jack.

"Ready when you are!" she piped.

"All right," Jack said before turning towards us again. "Now, I don't really like this. All of you up and make a line right here! Front of the room. Step on it!"

We hurriedly lined up at the front of the room and Jack walked along the line of us with the narrow eyes again.

"You sailor! Step forward," Jack instructed. This thin lanky kid known as Brennan stepped up out of the line with an amused and embarrassed smile. "What's your name, boy?" Jack asked.

"Uh…"

"Last name!"

"Proud! My name's Proud!"

"Alright. Jane!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Mark Proud down for bilges."

Lindsay actually did I think; I shook my hand as Holly giggled next to me. Brennan stepped back into the line laughing with his friends. Jack continued down the line a few more people until he got to Richie, one of me and Holly's other buddies.

"You lad, step out."

Richie did as told. He tried to hide his smile. He's a quiet guy.

"Name?"

"Jordan."

"Jane! Jordan for sails."

This continued for everyone. Short and sweet, really. Said your name and got a position. What the hell for, I don't know.

"All right! I'm told ye're studying… South America?"

Nods…

"Well, um… I don't like South America. Too strange."

Everyone smiled.

"So, suggestions of alternative course of plans?"

Steve raised his hand.

"Aye?"

"Can we have a free day?"

Jack looked confused.

"Abby! Come here."

Holly got this look on her face and walked up to Jack.

"Yeah?"

"What's a free day?"

"You let us do whatever."

"Oh… is it like… a party? With rum?"

"Uh…"

"Alright, lads! Here's the plan!" Jack shouted suddenly. "Instead of makin' ye scrub the room or do stuff, I'll reward the first lad to bring me a bottle of rum ten pieces."

"Of what?" Steve asked.

"Pieces of Eight," I said. "Pirate currency back then. Worth about ninety-six cents in US currency."

"Boy, she knows her stuff," Steve said. "So about nine fifty? No way. I want twenty pieces."

"Fifteen," Jack said.

"Seventeen," Steve argued.

"Sixteen and a promotion to lookout!"

"Lookout! I'm already the second mate!"

"Fine! Twenty pieces if ye bring me rum _and_ cheese curls."

Eyes lit up. Cheese curls were easy to get around this school, but rum?

"And I want a big bag," Jack said. "None of them little Fun Size things ye get for Halloween. I've seen 'em. Grace and Jane told me all about 'em. Big bag. Lots of cheese."

Nods…

"Now, go out and find me rum and cheese curls!"

"Wait!" Paige yelled. "Shouldn't they be wearing something? Like a badge or something so they don't get sent to the office and get in trouble?"

"Good idea, Paige," I said.

I ran over to the desk where Lindsay was and began filling out these sticky post-it notes that said, 'Rum and Cheese Curl Hunt, Period 1.' Everyone got in line to get one slapped on their front, and afterwards ran out the door.

"Why aren't ye lassies goin'?" Jack asked as Lindsay, Holly, Paige, and I hung back with him.

"Because we're staying right here with you while we can," I said. "We won't see you anymore later on. We're only here first period."

"Wait, ye're leavin' me with all these beasts?"

"Oh, come on, Jack," Lindsay said. "If you're sending them on the Fabulous Rum and Cheese Curl Quest, you'll be up here and have the room all to yourself."

"I can't do that!"

"Get Miss Garrett to help you," Holly said.

"She's a nice lass," he said. "Very perky, but very at peace with herself."

"She's also off limits," I said.

"Grace, belay that talk," Jack said.

"Can you blame me? You have a bad reputation with women."

"Well, none from here. Miss Garrett's a respectable woman. Would try nothing of the sort on such a lady," he said.

"Psh… like you didn't try anything on Elizabeth?" Lindsay said.

"Ooo, busted," I said.

We continued talking the remainder of the period when there was suddenly a knock on the door. We looked up to see Miss Garrett standing there. She walked up to the desk.

"Don't you have a class to teach?" Jack asked her.

"No, this is my prep period. Mr. Sparrow, I just had one of your students come in asking if I had any rum handy. I saw this sticky note on his shirt. Do you have anything to do with this?"

She laid it in front of him; Jack laughed.

"It's just a game," he said innocently. "Nothing meant by it."

"Well, he's over in my classroom now. I'll send him back over."

"You do that," Jack said.

Miss Garrett left and Steve returned to the classroom.

"Lad, ladies do not hold rum," Jack said, standing up.

"My bad…" Steve said. "But I had to try!"

Jack just smiled.

"I like the way you think, boy."

- Jessica's PoV -

_BRRRING!_

"Ok, I have to go to class now. I'll come back for you at lunch time," I said, about to leave Will and Elizabeth under one of the stairwells. "Do not leave this spot until I come and get you, savvy?"

"Mary, we really don't want to stay here…" Will said.

"Well if I bring you to class you'll get mobbed!"

"Isn't there another way?"

I sighed angrily.

"Maybe I'll come get you when I have Foods fifth period, ok? Then we can go straight to lunch afterwards."

"Well, if you say so," Elizabeth said. "Don't forget us."

"Who could forget you?" I asked.

- Lunch -

"I said I was sorry!"

"But you forgot about us!" Elizabeth said.

"Hey, shut up! At least I didn't forget to bring you to lunch!"

We went into the cafeteria and sat at the last table in the back corner. Many people were now looking back at us. I rolled my eyes.

"Will!"

"What?"

"Why do you always have to look like Orlando Bloom's long lost twin!"

"Me!"

"Yes, you!"

A circle began to form around us.

"What!" I yelled.

"Is that-"

"NO! If you say it, I'll kill you!"

"But-"

_BAM!_

Everyone screamed as this Allison girl I absolutely hate stumbled back after I punched her in the face. Then people started mobbing me, but I could sort of hear Will and Liz trying to save me. Suddenly, a loud voice boomed over us.

"People! People! What is this!"

Oh great. Mr. Schroyer.

AKA the principal.

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- Wednesdays are my cursed days…

Yeah huh, Jack! I've had the worst lower back pain all day and I got burned with this stupid sodium hydrowhatzits (strong base known as lye in soap)! I have a crater in my elbow! Big stingies!

Sorry if the chapter's a bit short; I'm pressed for time on this story lol. Hope you liked it anyhow.

Please review!


	9. Just do it!

(A/N – Well, well, well… It's Tuesday! April 26, 2005! I had a fab weekend at Youthfest up at my church camp Lutherlyn with my buddy Lori 'cept I'm sick now and I missed school yesterday. But isn't just my luck to come back the day of the Julius Caesar test? Psh… Chamber tryouts are this week! It's the best choir in the school, and I would die to get in. Wish me luck, you guys. Being sick the week of tryouts sucks. Oh, and I got contacts Friday! But I'm still sick! Blah!)

Again, Lumiere is hot, Reviewers!

x) Kitty- I love your poem! Thank you! I shall think up one for you! Do not fret... Your turn again! Enjoy the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

x) Kenny - Wow, that does sound like a bad day. I know it's like two weeks later and all, but cheer yourself up with this chapter, eh? LoL. Thanks!

x) Norma Jean the Dancing Machine - (pulls out Jack's hat and puts on his big green coat and draws sword) I dub thee... Jolly Bonnie! And you friend Steve? I christen thee Ragetty Pete! YO HO! LoL. Congrats! You're now an official pirate on my crew! Enjoy the chapter and thanks for the review!

.: LoL… How many times have I told you this? I believe three :.

**CLE –** **"I'm Just A Kid" by Simple Plan**

I wanna go to bed… ehh… instead, I get homework, my sister's chorus concert, and disclaimers tonight. Eh heh…

Non- PotC gang: Grab a pencil and get you butts up here to my house! We're doing my homework! LoL… Oh, and I own you! No one can ever have you ever never ever!

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CHPATER NINE: "Just do it!"

Jessica's PoV (still) -

"Now just what exactly happened?" Mr. Schroyer asked me.

He was staring at me, Will, and Elizabeth from his desk.

"Some kid was annoying me and wouldn't stop so I punched him," I said simply. "And then my… friends backed me up."

I tried to avoid referring to them as my second parents.

That'd be weird.

"Well, that little back up will cost you and your friends three days suspension," Mr. Schroyer said. "You are not allowed back on school grounds until Wednesday."

"Psh… wanna watch me?" I muttered.

"What did you say?" the principal asked, standing up.

"Nothing…" I lied. "So, what? Do I gotta take a letter home or something?"

"No, this is your third suspension, Miss Stewart," he said. "You are to have your parents come pick you up. Use the phone in the office. Have a good day."

At that, he gathered his papered and left his office.

What a loser!

Suspend me for three days and tell me to 'have a good day…'

You stupid-

"Mary, now what?" Will asked.

"Sigh… now we gotta go to the main office and call my mom so she can come get me," I said.

Walked to the main office… called home…

"Well, mom's not home," I said, hanging up the phone and turning to Will and Elizabeth. "Great."

Then and idea struck me.

A good idea.

My face lit up, and I started punching numbers into the keypad.

"Come on, pick up pick up…" I muttered.

Erica's PoV -

Oh my god, what a morning.

I had bitten off all of my nails worried to death that Jack would be found out. Paige, too, because Lindsay begged to have her go with her to third period Foods class instead of Chambers Choir with me. All of my teachers, even Mr. Reidman from last year when he saw me in the hall before fourth period, asked if I was feeling ok and questioned if I should go to the nurse. I almost said yes a few times.

But they hadn't been discovered yet.

Surprise, surprise.

Maybe my story about him being brainwashed worked?

Let's hope so.

"Erica? Erica!"

"Huh? What?"

I was now walking with Lindsay and Paige from sixth period. We were heading to Chem now, yay.

"Your phone!" Lindsay said. "It's ringing!"

"Oh!"

I dug through my purse real quick and answered. The three of us ducked around the corner and off to the side. I pressed my left ear in while I listened with the right.

"Hello?" I said.

"Erica?"

"Stewie?"

At that, Paige and Lindsay leapt forward to listen in.

My phone's really loud, so everyone could hear everyone.

"Yeah, it's me."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Will, Elizabeth, and I got sent to the office," Jessica said on the other line.

"Stewie! You were supposed to keep them under the stairs!" Lindsay yelled into the phone.

"Yeah!" Paige said. "Now we're found out!"

"No!" Stewie said. "We aren't 'found out.' I just brought 'em to the cafeteria for lunch and all these people started crowding around, I punched one kid, and then it all let loose!"

"Ouch, harsh," I said. "Suspended?"

"Yes! Three days… I had to call home, but no one's there as you all know, so I figured I call you to come and get me once school's out."

I sighed.

"Rough day," I muttered. "We've had one, too."

"Jack and Paige ok?" Stewie asked.

"We're good," Lindsay said. "But everyone thinks Jack's a brainwashed teacher who thinks he's the real Jack Sparrow with the same name, and that Paige is a hot exchange student from another school around here on spy business for the wrestling competition next weekend. Lame, huh?"

"They do?" Paige asked.

Lindsay nodded.

"That's what some kid at lunch said. Another one says he hopes you're a hooker, one thinks you're an undiscovered local celebrity, and another thinks he could've sworn he's seen you in a past life."

I shook my head and continued talking to Stewie.

"Anyways, we'll be there after school," I said. "With the lie we came up with today for Jack-"

"What about me!" Paige asked. "What was my cover! Swiss Alp Lady!"

"No, but someone else called you that, too," Lindsay said.

Paige was starting to flip out.

"Calm down," I said. "You're just chillin' with us if anyone asks."

"Well, I've been asked out by seven guys today!" Paige said, sort of outraged.

"Geez!" Lindsay said. "Lucky!"

"But I don't want a boyfriend! These people freak me out!"

"Shut up, guys!" I said. "We have a situation with Stewie here!"

They shut up and Stewie started talking again.

"Anyways, You can come and get us after school, right?"

"Sure," I said. "We've only got two more periods, so just hang around til then. I might even get to convince my study hall teacher to let me out early. Can you get out, Lindsay?"

"I have an English test eight period, but I can see," she said.

"Okay, we'll be there," I said. "I gotta go, Stewie. Bell's gonna-"

_BRRRING!_

"Never mind…" I muttered. "Bye, Stewie."

"Cya later, Stewie!" Lindsay said.

"Bye," Paige hollered before I turned the phone off.

Jr. High West -

Lindsay, Paige, Jack and I had picked up Stewie, Will, and Elizabeth and were heading back to the car now. Stewie was muttering angrily, but she calmed down once we got in the car and took off.

"Jess, chill," Lindsay said. "We're going to the dance tonight!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Do I have to dress up?" Jack whined.

"Sorry, but yes," Will said. "What makes you so special?"

"Do you have to ask that one, Will?" Paige asked.

Will snorted and leaned back in the seat.

"So, how was your first day as substitute teacher?" Jessica asked.

"First and last," Lindsay said, choking on her iced tea. "That was a horrific experience to say the least."

"See Miss Garrett anymore today?" I asked.

"Who's Miss Garrett?" Will asked with a teasing grin.

"She's one of the lasses teachin' at the place," Jack said. "She got me settled in, ate lunch with me-"

"Ate lunch with you?" Will asked.

"Will, stop that," Jack said. "Ye know, I dropped my cheese curls in the garbage and she shared."

"That's it. We've lost him," Will said, throwing his arms up in the air.

At this, Jack pulled out his dagger and grabbed Will's throat.

"Look here, boy-"

"Cut it out!" Elizabeth screamed. "Let him finish, Will."

"Aye, stupid eunuch…" Jack muttered. "Anyways, Miss Garrett ate lunch with me in the room I was in all day. She asked me very confusin' questions about stuff I didn't know, so I asked her if she's ever been on a real ship and she said yes and then…"

Jack continued on for a long time. Like, all-the-way-home long time. Since no one was at Stewie's we decided to get ready and go to the dance from there. I had to run Lindsay to her house and me to my house so we could pick up our things, and we even talked our parents into staying at Stewie's for the night since we were planning on going out to at afterwards. But with the recent addition of these four goonies, plans could change before you knew they did.

We got back to Stewie's house in about twenty minutes, and she and Paige were already dressed in their black and white dresses. Will and Elizabeth were leaving the bathroom as we went back the hall to Jessica's room. Boy, did they make a cute couple off-screen even.

Lindsay and I quickly threw on our dresses. We had a few pictures taken after we took turns doing each other's hair, too. Jack? All he did was through on his huge green overcoat and tricorn hat. Isn't that nifty? He sucks… but low maintenance guys are cool like that, I guess.

"You guys hungry?" Lindsay asked as we headed out to the little kitchen. She and Stewie rounded in and started raiding the cupboards as Jack and I went over to the fridge.

"Cap'n Crunch!" Stewie yelled triumphantly. "We have Cap'n Crunch-age!"

"Want any chocolate milk to go with that?" I asked, lifting the gallon jug out of the fridge.

"Nah, get the Pepsi instead," Lindsay said.

"Look! I found marshmallows!" Paige said, peering into the little dish in the center of the dining table.

Then I stopped.

"Hang on, guys," I said. "Let's rethink this, shall we?"

"Rethink what?" Lindsay asked.

"This," I said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Everytime we eat food with these losers here, we get into food fights. Major food fights. And we are about to leave for a Christmas dance in an hour. What do you think?"

The population of my moronic friends was staring me at again.

"You know, she does have a point," Lindsay said. "There's gonna be food there anyways."

"But the food there costs money!" Stewie said. "It's free here!"

"No it doesn't," I laughed. "Not at high school dances. It's all you can eat included in the ticket. Four bucks."

"Oh, ok," Jessica, said. "I'll do that then, too!"

"Aw, but I'm hungry now," Paige moaned, grabbing at her stomach.

"Don't even go into that sympathy fetch," I said with wide eyes. "No way."

"Yeah, we've going out to eat afterwards anyways," Lindsay said.

"How about beforehand?" Will asked this time.

"Let me guess, you're hungry too?" Jess asked.

"Uh… yeah."

At the Double Dragon -

We had just got done eating three – freaking - platters of General Tso's chicken. And three – freaking – platters of rice. And twenty-seven cups of tea. And sixteen fortune cookies. And fifteen glasses of water.

Oh – my – god.

But I loooooove Chinese…

I know exactly what you're thinking, though.

_The pigs…_

"Are you done yet?" I asked Jessica.

She was still shoveling rice and slurping tea. The bottomless pit, she is, as we've stated before. She poured like half the sugar container into her cup of tea. You think I'm kidding now when I say she's a hyper ball of energy? Half of it! By herself!

"Nope," she said with rice spitting out of her mouth. "Oops, sorry, Lizzy."

"No… problem…" Elizabeth said, swiping the rice off her face.

"Jess, we've sorta gotta go," Lindsay said. "The dance is in ten minutes and you are the only one still stuffing your face!"

"Really?" she asked, looking around.

"Yeah," Will said.

"But you were supposed to have a tea chugging contest with me before we left!" Stewie said, looking at Will angrily.

"Lass, he's used the restroom five times since we've been here," Jack said. "He's had plenty of tea and water."

"PLEASE?" Jess begged, getting all pouty in Will's face.

"Mary, I-"

"Oh, just do it," Elizabeth said.

Will glared at her.

"Just do it!" Will asked incredulously. "Just DO IT!"

"Yeah," Liz said, taking in an effort-filled bite of rice.

"No," Will said, throwing his napkin on the plate. "I'm not gonna 'just do it.' If you're so eager, you 'just do it.'"

"You're a baby," Lindsay said.

"Do YOU wanna do it?" Will asked with a dangerous look. "Because unless you're not about to spew your guts out, run for the bathroom, and have this hyperness chasing you down nagging for a tea chugging contest, I suggest you shut – up."

Ok… so after _that_ little rant…

"Will, just do it," Lindsay said, waving it off.

"Yeah, Will…" I said.

"Just do it!" Paige yelled.

"You guys SUCK!" Will yelled, getting up from the table.

"Aww, is Willy-Nilly-Poopkins having an itty-bitty tantrum over an eensy-weensy tea chugging contesty-westy?" Lindsay asked in this babified voice that made us all snigger and Will turn to us with a deadly glare in his eye.

Then Will smiled. It was that creepy sort of manic smile that made you lean away towards the wall.

"No, Willy-Nilly-Poopkins is not having an itty-bitty tantrum over some eensy-weensy tea chugging contesty-westy!" he bellowed. "Willy-Nilly-Poopkins is having a humungous-ginormous tantrum over a retarded-larded teenager who wants to have a stupid-freaking tea chugging contesty-westy after Willy-Nilly-Poopkins has gone to the smelly-welly bathroom FIVE TIMES!"

"Sheesh, calm down, Will," Lindsay said, rolling her eyes. "Just do it…"

Will scrunched up his face and let out an angry man-shriek as he left the table and went around the corner.

"Lindsay, you are really pushing your luck with that guy," I laughed.

"I know," she giggled. "He's so fun to pick on."

Suddenly, Will came back around the corner with a huge kettle of tea. He held it above Lindsay's head and threatened to tip it on her head if she didn't have the tea chugging contest with Will.

"Now," he said dangerously.

Lindsay again rolly her eyes and just stood up, ducking her head around the tea kettle.

"S'ko guys," she said. "Dance is about to start."

We all headed for the door, but Paige, Jack, and I stayed back so we could laugh at Will. He nodded angrily and set the tea down and went in front of us. When we got to the door, our waitress stood there with the tip jar.

"Tip her, Will," Paige said.

"But I don't have any money!" he said as we went outside.

"Just do it!" I called back.

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Haha, funnies, funnies, funnies…

It's May 4th now, guys! I'm sorry I'm so behind, but now we got stupid career projects due this Friday, eye appointment tomorrow, busy busy busy, grr… Oh, the Buried Treasure Rewrite is hibernating at the moment, too. I had to sacrifice it for the time being, sorry. Jack's sick, too. Ugh…

Please Review!


	10. Do I hint jealousy?

(A/N – Geez, rough times. Nah… GUESS WHAT! Me and ten other family members (plus Jack) are heading to Topsail, NC for one – whole – week starting May 28th! I'm totally thrilled! Never been anywhere for a week in my life, let alone a beach! Yeah, big step, and I'm sorry, but the house we're staying in doesn't have a computer for me to update. But never you fear! I shall be working during vacation whenever I can if my lil sister, brother, and two cousins Louie and Ryan don't drive me crazy…)

I can't believe I'm going, Reviewers!

x) Norma Jean the Dancing Machine - Haha! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I hope you like this one just as much! Thanks for reviewing!

x) Killer Fuzzy Bunny From Hell - Oh, please don't tell me you and Kenny are in a spat! You shouldn't fight! LoL. But really, treasure your friends; sometimes they're all you've got. Thanks! Enjoy the chapter.

x) Sentinel Sparrow - OMG! A new reader! I'm so thrilled! I'm so very glad that you've read and loved my work! That's a rarity for me, LoL. I saw you read Yo ho, yo ho! as well! Yeah, I sort of hate my name, too. Known as Gracey now. I've conformed someone! How exciting! -huge smile- Thank you so much! Enjoy!

.: Anyone near Topsail? Come visit me! We're staying in Stow-Away house in Surf City, second row from the beach, lol. Want the address? I've got it! Haha :.

**CLE – "Forever Young" by Alphaville**

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a kick-arse movie. Check it out. But sadly, I gotta put a disclaimer on those poor Baudelaire orphans and the Jack Sparrow gang. No, not you, JC… you are mine!

But MY gang is MINE and semi-non-PotC. I say 'semi-non-PotC' because my Jack Clone is a replica of CJS. My gang: We're going to rent a beach house someday for a week, too!

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CHAPTER TEN: "Do I hint jealousy?"

Once we arrived at the high school, got in, and picked a table to throw our stuff on and claim as our territory for the night like we do at every dance, we started to look around for familiar faces. Well, I did anyways. Jessica already found some other people and ran off towards the snack table with Lindsay tagging along. Will and Elizabeth wandered off, too. I didn't really worry about them for some reason as much as I did Lindsay and Stewie, though.

I was fumbling around with my cell phone real quick when Holly suddenly appeared at my side all excited and happy.

"Hey! Nice dress," she complimented.

"Like yours, too," I replied. It was short and black with a halter-top. "Hey, is that the same one you wore to the Cinderella last year?"

"Yep," she laughed. "Didn't have time to find another one, so I pulled this out and figured 'eh, it'll do.' Ooo! Hi, Paige! Hi, Jack!" she said, finally taking recognition of them.

Jack nodded in her direction politely and Paige smiled.

"How did you like your first day of school? Holly asked her with a big grin.

"Not funny," I muttered.

"Oh my!" Paige said. "If I ever have to endure that place again, I just might die!"

"People have died," Holly said quietly. "Committed suicide, peer pressure, drugs, not to mention all the fights…"

Paige gave a surprised look.

"I'm not going back there anymore!"

"You just might have to if you don't get out of here before Monday," I said.

"But Jack and I have to hide longer than a few days," Paige said.

"Then you're, as they say here, screwed," Holly said.

"Great…"

Suddenly, I saw Robbie (anyone remember him? lol) walking towards us in this grayish suit. I hadn't talked to him in such a long time since he got a girlfriend that actually stayed with him longer than a month and went to our school. He smiled and nodded at us like he sometimes does and looked at Paige, then at me and Holly.

"Aren't you gonna introduce us?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes.

"What happened to Meg?" I asked.

"Broke up," he hissed through gritted teeth as to not let Paige hear this.

"Oh," I said. "Well, this is Paige. You saw her in Geometry today…"

"Never talked to her, though," he said between turning to her. "I'm Robbie. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," Paige said awkwardly.

"Where you from? Never seen you before around here," Robbie said.

"Oh, she's from the same place he is," I said, pointing behind Robbie to Jack. Robbie turned around and jumped, and Jack lifted an eyebrow.

"Holy crap, when did he come back?" Robbie asked.

"Wednesday night," I said. "He and Paige and Liz and Will."

Robbie looked over at Paige.

"You his… daughter?" Robbie asked cautiously.

"Not really, but you could say that," she said.

Robbie looked back up at Jack.

"Hey man, what's up?" he asked. "Remember me?"

"Aye, I do," Jack said. "Nice to see ye again, lad."

"Yeeeeeeah… so, Paige-"

"Please tell me you're not another loser who's about to ask me to be his girlfriend because if you are I will kill you and anyone who gets in my way," Paige responded.

Robbie raised his brow as Holly and I stifled giggles.

"Err… no," he said. "I just wanted to ask you-"

"For my phone number?" Paige said very dangerously with a glare.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Just for a dance."

"Oh," Paige said, lightening her expression. "Well…"

"Ah, go ahead, lassie," Jack said. "He's all right."

"Yeah, I guess we trust you," I said. "Have fun, Paige."

"And don't give in to anything he says!" Holly yelled after her as she and Robbie moved into the blurred crowd. I nudged her in the arm even though I would've said the same thing.

"I guess it's ok for Paige to go out and meet some guys, but man, if she ever got attached to one…" I said.

"Erica, who's gonna get attached to Robbie?" Holly asked me with a laugh. I looked down at her and she smiled innocently.

"Not funny," I said. "That was years ago. Eight grade, Holly."

"It was still funny…"

"No, it wasn't-"

"Enjoying yourselves, girls?" we heard a voice say. We looked up and saw Miss Garrett standing there in a pretty golden sweater and black dress slacks. Her hair was curled a bit at the ends as well.

"Oh, hi Miss Garrett," Holly said.

"And look, Mr. Sparrow has come, too," Miss Garrett said with a smile. "Pleasure to see you again, Mr. Sparrow."

"Oh, yes, hello," Jack said, taking notice of her arrival to their group. "You came to this… thing?"

"Well, some teachers are assigned to come and help keep order," Miss Garrett explained (AHHHHHHHHHHHH!). "I'm one of them and it would appear as if you were the other."

Holly and I bent our brows as we watched them.

"Oh, no," Jack said. "Gracey and the others dragged me here."

"My butt," I muttered.

"Well, I hope you're having fun," she said, now addressing all of us. "This whole Christmas dance has been beautifully decorated, too. I must sound a bit off the wall, but it's the best one I've ever been to."

"The decorations," Jack began, "are not the only beautiful things here tonight," he said, looking at Miss Garrett.

My eyes grew huge and my mouth opened slightly in shock. Holly turned around and covered her mouth in laughter, probably because she thought it was a cheesy pick-up line. But me? How in the heck could he say that to our teacher!

Miss Garrett smiled in amusement, however.

"Oh really?" she asked.

"Aye," Jack said with those heavily-lined eyes still on her.

I nodded. Yep. She's in over her head now.

…….

Ah! Which is why I gotta stop this!

"Miss Garrett, I-"

"How about a dance?" Jack asked, taking up he hand and nodding towards the dance floor.

"Surely," she said with her smile growing.

Before I could say another word because I was stunned at all this happening, Jack whisked Miss Garrett onto the dance floor. I sank into my chair next to Holly still not getting this.

"Oh my god," I said.

"Did he really say that?" Holly laughed.

"Yes," I said worriedly. "He's wooing our history teacher, Holly! We can't allow it! I won't allow it! He can't woo our history teacher and do something he can't take back because he's gotta go back to his own time in less than two weeks tops and-"

"Erica! Chill out!" Holly laughed. "It's a dance. And although I know your concerns, I wouldn't worry. Jack knows he's gotta go back, too."

"What about Paige?" I asked.

"I've only known Paige twenty-four hours and she's one person I know how doesn't take the bull boys try to dish out to her," she said. "And plus, it's Robbie. I know Robbie and Jack are somewhat similar, but just try to relax. So what if Paige gets a boyfriend for a few days?"

"Yeah, true," I said.

Suddenly, Lindsay and Stewie came racing up towards us. They flew into their chairs across the table from us with disbelief etched into their faces.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Oh my god, I could've sworn that I just saw Jack dancing with Miss Garrett," Lindsay panted.

"You did," I said as they exchanged looks

"Hey, you guys all match!" Holly said, pointing at our dresses. I rolled my eyes. Now she realizes it.

"Yeah, and if you noticed, Paige a white one," I said. Then I turned back to Lindsay and Stewie. "He just used this stupid line on her and took her to the dance floor!"

"Which one?" Jessica asked.

"She complimented the decorations being beautiful and he said 'the decorations are not the only beautiful things here tonight' or something retarded like that…"

"Do I hint jealousy?" Lindsay asked.

"Lindsay, shut up," I said. "Do you not realize what could happen?"

"In one night?" she laughed. "Calm down!"

"I'm trying! But it doesn't help because Paige ran off with Robbie, too!" I said.

"Ok, that's it," Lindsay said.

She got up and pulled me out of my chair and over to the dance floor. Holly and Stewie followed, curious to know what was going on so they could make fun of me if anything embarrassing/ funny happened to me.

Comforting, huh? Don't you just love your friends sometimes?

"Lindsay, let go," I said. "What are you doing?"

"You're gonna dance with somebody," she said, parting all these people as the slow song began to come to a close.

"But the slow song is-"

Lindsay stopped me in front of this person and tapped him on the shoulder. I wanted to scream when I saw his face, but I just stared and froze in this fixed daze of shock, disbelief, utter joy, ect (you all have a guy like this, I'm sure, lol).

It was him.

That's all I really need to say.

Him.

Jordan Hoover.

AKA 'Lumiere.'

Want a picture?

Ask for one when you review.

I'll send you the link.

But right now, let's continue.

"Jordan, would you dance with my friend Erica for this dance?" Lindsay asked.

Since when did she talk to the guy!

"B-b-but the song is-"

And just my luck. Another one started.

I wanted to cry.

"Yeah, sure," he said.

I wanted to die.

"B-b-but I th-thought you were a senior last year?" I asked with my voice giving out on me as it got higher and higher.

"I was; I'm just here with some friends that snuck me in," he said.

He's talking to me! AHHH!

"Okay, well, you two go ahead and dance," Lindsay said.

I wasn't breathing.

I looked back at her with huge eyes like 'don't-you-dare-leave-me-here-with-this-guy-I-have-an-unhealthy-obsession-with.' Stewie and Holly were all giddy, and then they left me.

Suddenly, he put his hands on my waist and I put mine around his neck.

I was dead.

. Lindsay's PoV .

Erica, you owe me so bad.

Anyhoo, Holly, Jessica, and I busted a gut as we choked and stumbled back to the snack table on our hysterical laughter.

"Did you see the look on her face?" I asked.

"Lindsay, I think you may have just killed her," Holly panted.

"Oh well," I said. "She'll thank me in heaven."

"Hey! Will and Lizzy!" Stewie shouted, running up alongside the table, passed the lunch line exit doors to the milk machine where Will and Elizabeth were pointing at stuff inside of it. Yes, we have a milk vending machine with water and lots of tea cooler hickeys, too. Awesome, huh?

"Hey, girls," Liz said. "Having fun?"

"Loads," Stewie laughed. "We've just killed Grace."

Will and Elizabeth snapped their heads in our direction as we beamed up at them.

"Not really," Holly laughed. "But we've managed to come very close."

"What did you do to her?" Will asked.

"Embarrassed the hell out of her," I said.

"Ah, I see," he said. "Anything else worth telling?"

"Well, Jack's off with our history teacher and Paige went off with Robbie. Do you remember Robbie from last summer? The first one?"

"That kid?" Liz asked somewhat disgusted. "Oh dear…"

We giggled.

"So, whatcha wanna do?" Holly asked, rocking on her toes.

"Let's go grab some food and sit down for a bit until Erica comes staggering back showing no signs of life," I suggested.

"But if she's show's no signs of life, how can she-"

"You're slowing me down, Stewie! I said loudly, overriding her comment.

We each grabbed a little plate of something off the snack table and sat at our table; it wasn't a far walk. Our table was two away from the snacks, lol. To our surprise, Paige and Robbie were standing there as Paige took something out of the purse Erica had lended to her to use for the night.

"Hey, guys," I said, setting my plate on the table. Robbie and Paige looked up; Robbie jumped upon seeing Will and Elizabeth again.

"Yes, we remember you," Liz said with a smile to Robbie.

"What's up?" he said (as he always did).

"Oh, we aren't staying long," Paige said. "I just wanted to grab the camera so I could get a picture with Robbie," she said happily.

Whoa, something's up.

"You two're hitting it off pretty good," Holly said. 'Considering Paige almost told you off when she first met you…"

"Well, he's not that bad," Paige said. "We're actually having a great time."

"Good," I said. "Well, don't let us stop you. Go have more fun!"

"We are," Robbie said as they turned to go. "See you."

"Bye," I called, sitting down.

"Wow, that's something I never thought I'd see," Will said. "Talk about odd couples…"

"Aw, lay off," I said. "What's so odd about it?"

"A few years ago, Erica would have killed to be Paige," Holly laughed.

"Yeah, I know," I said.

"Speaking of our bestest buddy…" Stewie said.

We turned around as Erica came back to the table with the biggest grin on her face I have ever seen. She wasn't walking either; more like floating. I smiled. I was gonna get hurt…

"Erica, you ok?" Holly laughed as she fell into the chair.

She just shook her head.

"So, how'd it go?" I asked, nudging her in the arm.

She just smiled even bigger if that was possible.

"Erica? Say something…" Holly said. "You're scaring me."

"Is she gonna be ok?" Will asked.

"She's fine," I said, setting aside my plate. "Erica, hey! Talk to us!"

"Ehhh…" she said.

"That's an improvement," Stewie said.

"Not enough," I said. "Erica! What happened?"

Silence…

"Erica, I will not hesitate to slap you," I warned.

Silence.

_SLAP!_

Still silent! Oh my god!

"ERICA!" Stewie bellowed.

"Huh?" she asked all dazed-like.

"WHAT HAPPENED!" Stewie yelled, now standing.

Silence.

"I DANCED WITH HIM!" she screamed excitedly.

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Oh my god, I just did one whole chapter in… four hours off the top of my head?

Progress! LoL. I wrote this yesterday, but sorry it didn't get posted til today. I know you guys were dyin' for an update, and I'm not sure or not, but this might be the last post for this story until after I get back from Topsail. I will be updating others, so watch for 'em. We'll miss you guys down there! Hope you all liked the chapter! Jack and I shall be there in two weeks even! I promise a post when I get back! Luv you, peeps!

Please Review!


	11. Scumbag!

(A/N – Ok, Topsail was ok if you overlook that it was colder here than here and it rained 5 out of 7 days. Psh… Anyhoo, great to be back home and writing for you all! I missed you and almost went crazy sharing a room with my sisters and my two little cousins bombarding into the room and the three of them ganging up on me…)

Who thinks we should get a refund, Reviewers?

x) Norma Jean - LoL! i updated! Sorry for the wait! Leave me your email and I'll send you links, k? Thanks for reviewing, and enjoy!

x) Sentinel Sparrow - I have your pirate name and I hope you got it! If not, you're Curious Jen! I'm back noew from vacation, but it definately could've done better weather wise. Well, thank you for the review, and enjoy the chapter!

.: Oh, and guess what? Wednesday before I left, I stole Lumiere's choir robe sticker in which he wrote his name on it. Hehe :.

**CLE – "Feliz Navidad (Live)" by Jose Feliciano**

Oh my disclaimer whoa gets bigger…

I own all my ppl not with PotC and any other movies/ TV shows/ books/ ect.

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CHAPTER ELEVEN: "Scumbag!"

. Erica's PoV .

After a nice twenty-minute zone-out, my friends had brought me back to my sense. Except now, I was a nervous wreck because _he_ was here… probably talking about me right – now.

Oh my God!

"Erica!"

"What?" I asked, now a nervous wreck.

"Come on! Something's going on up by the DJ!"

Suddenly, Lindsay pulled me out of my chair and was again dragging me with Holly and Stewie in the rear. Oh no… this seems familiar…

"I'm not dancing with him again!" I screamed.

"What?" Jessica laughed. "No!"

"Then what's with the déjà vu!" I asked.

We pushed through everyone and found ourselves next to Paige and Robbie. Robbie had his arm around her, I noticed, so I threw him a look. He just gave me that what-I'm-being-good-so-back-off look. But then I looked up.

Big mistake.

I wanted to freak! Jack was dancing with our history teacher as if he had been dancing professionally his whole life! I couldn't believe it! Well, I guess that's what Barry Manilo can do to some people when they dance to his jazzy version of 'Home For The Holidays…'

Damn you, Barry Manilo.

As the song ended, he tossed her in the air, caught her, and dipped her low with his oh-too-famous seductive smile inches from her face. And she smiled back! This sent my thoughts spiraling with too many questions I did/ did not want to know the answer of.

Everyone started cheering which sent me back into the thick of things. I went to storm over to Jack so I could break every bone in his body for lying to us about liking Miss Garrett (which is too obvious now!), wooing her, ect. But I was cut off as everyone starting filling the space around them so that they could get next to the makeshift stage for this special dude coming tonight.

"Jack, you moron! You're dead!" I screamed.

"Dude, chill," Lindsay laughed from beside me. "Besides, dance'll be over after this guy sings his song, we can grab a bite, go home, and sleep over at my grandma's house!"

"Your grandma's gone again?" Stewie asked. "I thought she had the rest of the week off?"

"Yeah, but she went to Ohio for a few days," she replied. "Lucky us, huh?"

"Or, we can grab Jack round the throat and die getting home since there's already half a foot of snow on the roads!" I said, now on my tiptoes looking for Jack and Miss Garrett. But I didn't see them. Crap.

"You worry too much," Holly said. "Please just calm down and try to relax."

"But I can't see them!"

"Oh-"

Suddenly, all this music started as we looked up at the stage. Then, these pyros went of and confetti started falling from out of nowhere as this old guy got onstage with his guitar, wished us all a Merry Christmas, and started singing Feliz Navidad.

"Come on, Grace!" Paige said. "Dance!"

"Fine, just for a minute," I said, giving in.

I couldn't enjoy myself. This wasn't working. I just gave an exasperated sigh and started looking around through all the smoke, lights, confetti, and just all out confusion. But then I was being pushed into this conga line.

"Lindsay! Let go!" I demanded.

"Come on! We're leaving in the conga line!" she said.

"Let me guess, the Spanish Club sponsored the Christmas Dance?" I asked.

"Obviously!" Stewie said.

"The Spanish Club got the Feliz Navidad guy to come and sing!" Holly asked in amazement. "That's so cool! Why can't the Stereo Club get Linkin Park or Metallica or someone like that to come to a dance?"

Well, I still looked for them as I was led out of the cafeteria, into the lobby, and outside on the patio. I ripped myself away, and Lindz, Stewie, and Holly came over to stand with me.

"I'm gonna kill him," I muttered over and over. 'I am."

"Erica, they'll be out with everyone else," Holly said.

"For Jack's sake, they better be," I said.

Paige and Robbie then found us, and Robbie asked about going out to eat. Will and Elizabeth came over just as we had made plans to go to Valley Dairy. Though, I wasn't going without Jack.

30 min later -

Jack hadn't come out yet and we even went back in to look around. But everyone was gone. So, everyone else threatened my life because Valley Dairy was due to close in an hour and if they didn't get their food, they would become rabid and feast upon my flesh with no mercy (or so Stewie said).

So now I'm sitting at Valley Dairy toying with my straw in my milkshake because I'm a nervous wreck. I was in a booth with Holly, and Will and Elizabeth were sitting across from us.

"Don't worry about Jack," Elizabeth said. "He will find his way back to us."

"And when he does, I'm gonna beat his face in," I muttered.

"Why?" Holly asked.

I sighed.

"Don't you get it? Number one, Jack broke a rule we laid down, number two, he lied about breaking the rule and liking Miss Garrett, and number three is everything else I can't say because I'm to angry and upset to say it!" I said.

"You watch, Grace," Will said. "He'll be on the doorstep tomorrow."

"I want him there tonight."

Once dinner was done and it was around 11:30, we gathered up the group and said goodnight to Robbie and that we'd see him Monday in school. He drove off towards his house, and the seven of us squished into my little red Sunfire and went home. Well, we dropped Holly off at her house again, then the rest of us went back to Lindsay's grandma's house.

Again, we fixed up the living room for the six of us. We had all changed out of our dresses and Lindsay popped in the third Harry Potter movie to relax us all (mainly me), and it was sort of working. I left the front door unlocked for when Jack came home (if he did) so I could be ready to blast him. I was one of the first people to fall asleep however; only Lizzie beat me to it.

8:30 am -

I was up with Stewie and Paige shooting around the kitchen making waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast, but I was even more of a wreck since Jack still wasn't home. I almost called the cops when I found out he wasn't back, but Stewie hid the phone from me.

"Morning," Lizzie said, coming into the kitchen. "Did Jack come back last night?"

"No," Paige said. "And I'm beginning to feel a bit worried like Grace now."

"Ah, don't let her throw you," Lindsay called from within the next room. "She's a worry wart!"

"I am not!" I argued. "I have my reasons! Jack gone for hours with our history teacher… car wreck? Arrested? Dead? What do you know? Nothing! So I have plenty of reason to worry, thank-"

_SLAM!_

I looked up at Stewie, Paige, and Lizzie curious to know who had just walked through the door. And guess who just waltzes into the kitchen like it's such a wonderful day in the neighborhood? Not Mr. Rogers, I can tell you that.

Jack, the bum.

"Good mornin', lassies!" Jack said, rubbing his hands together after giving us a big smile. "Ah, what a night…" He slumped into a chair and put his boots up of the table. "So, what's for breakfast?"

We all glared at him angrily.

"What?" he asked. "Is this about me leavin' ye-"

I took the bowl of waffle batter I had and in all my anger, I walked over to him and emptied it on his head. Then Lizzie grabbed the strawberries and piled them on, storming out of the room, and Paige smashed the Cool Whip container onto his head hard before she and I left the kitchen together. We entered the living room where Will and Lindsay were sitting on the couch together watching television.

"Who was that?" Lindsay asked.

"Jack!" I yelled.

"See, no reason to worry, he's-"

"Making advances on Miss Garrett!" Paige said.

"What?" Will laughed.

Then Jack came into the doorway of the living room dripping with batter and strawberries. He looked at us and asked incredulously, "What did ye do that for!"

Then Paige, Liz, Stewie and I surrounded him.

"Creep!"

"Leech!"

"Scumbag!"

"Pig!"

"Whoa, what happened?" Will asked, getting to his feet now with Lindsay.

"I dunno what's got them actin' like there's a drunk in their pants!" Jack said. "They just attacked me when I walked inside!"

"Oh, you ought to know what's got us acting that way Jack Sparrow, considering you are one!" I shouted.

"A what?"

"A drunk in someone else's pants!" Paige said, staring at him. "So, how much did you give her to drink before you hiked up her skirts like you do in Tortuga?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, come on, Jack," Elizabeth said. "You've had these girls worried sick because you were gone all night and they didn't know what to think, where you were-"

"Oh, but I have a hunch…" I said deeply.

"Me, too," Stewie said.

Paige stood next to Stewie now folding her arms with the same glare we were giving him. He looked at us and then at Lizzie who was giving him the same look. Then he looked to Will and Lindsay for help, but it seemed as if they were beginning to doubt him as well.

"I swear I did nothing of the sort!" Jack said.

"Oh really? Just like you swore you'd stay away from Miss Garret?" Stewie asked him.

"I did!"

"Psh…"

"Well, can't the accused get a hearing before ye sentence me?" Jack asked. "Believe it or not, I do have a story that could use telling!"

We considered it, and we finally nodded.

"Fine, Jack," I said. "Sit. You have five minutes to save your butt."

"Thank ye," he said, sitting in the easy chair. "Now, no interruptions til I finish, savvy?"

"Fine. Go ahead," Paige said. "But we can ask questions such as where the hell did you disappear to last night?"

"I left with Isabelle and we went to this Green Lake place for a walk around to talk and unwind…"  
"Green Lake?" Lindsay asked. "That's a half hour drive!"

"Hey, no interuptin'," Jack said. "That was the deal."

"Okay, so how long were you at Green Lake?" Lizzie asked.

"We were there til about midnight. I showed her how us salors use the stars and she showed me this astrogy thing with signs…"

"Astrology," I said. "You're a Gemini. Just like my mom…"

"Huh?"

"Well, when's your birthday?" I asked.

"That's private information," Jack said.

"Just give me the month and day," I demended, getting short-tempered.

"September 2nd," he replied.

"See, a- wait. September? That would make you a Virgo!" I said, confused somewhat.

"Yeah, Gracey," Lindsay said. "He isn't Johnny, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"Can I finish?" Jack asked.

"Please do," Paige said.

"Well, 'round midnight we were both feeling out of it and she took me back to her place so I could use a phone to contact my college buddy's daughter and her friends," he said, giving me a glare.

"Well, what did you want me to say?" I asked.

"Anyways, I didn't know anything about a phone number, so she suggested just having me stay the night and taking me home in the morning. I could easily point out Grace's house, but since no one was home, I remembered this one."

"No one was at my house?" I asked. "Oh yeah… Mom's got the dentist appointment for Amber and Jace today… And I've gotta go to work today! Ah! Hurry up, Jack!"

"Clam down, luv, I am!" he said. "Well, for your information, all that was exchanged between us was a glass of wine, some more talk which she did most of that since I'm terrible at it, and 'goodnights.' Satisfied?"

Then a smile crept onto Lindsay's face.

"Struck out, huh?" she asked.

Jack glared at her.

"Ha! I knew it!" she laughed. "Jack tried to make points with her and struck out more than three times I'd wager!"

"Hold your tongue, Jane," Jack warned. "It's getting' ye into many a-fixes."

"Oh, and you're in one big one now!" I said. "You said you'd leave Miss Garrett alone! You promised!"

"I can't help meself!" he said. "One little hint that tells me she's playin' along and I go off! Even without the alcohol!"

"Jack, what you do is not considered love, and you aren't gonna be 'loving' anyone so long as you are here," I said. "Love means finding one person to be with the rest of your life that you can stand to be with forever, marry them, settle down, have kids, and be happy and content! Somehow, I doubt that applies to you in any way, shape, or form."

"Well, that's her definition anyways," Lindsay, said to Jack.

"Oh come on, Lindz. You know it's true," I said. "Jack, just please stop hitting on her. You're hiding, not partying. Besides, no girl wants what every other girl has had."

"Sheeze, Erica, chill out," Stewie said. "You're going a bit hard on the guy."

I sighed, realing that she was right. A heavy tension hung in the air, and I looked at Jack.

"Sorry," I said quietly. "It just worries me. I don't want anything to happen. Christmas is almost here, and-"

"Oh please shut up and go to work!" Lindsay laughed.

"Wait, nothing else happened?" I asked Jack. "Are you sure? No kissing?"

"Well, I know it's no formal invitation on her behalf, but she's invited me to dinner at her place tonight, wherever that's be."

"She what?" I asked, frozen.

"Oh cool! Go Jack!" Stewie said.

I glared at her.

"Well, it is," she said quietly.

"Jack, why didn't you say no?" Paige asked.

"Well, now that's just rude," he said. "She was eager to see me again, and I wasn't gonna complain about that."

"And hitting on her isn't!" I yelled. "Oh great…"

"Ok, leave everthing to us," Lindsay said. "Paige, Stewie, you and I can get Jack ready for his date tonight in no time. We'll work on the manners, get a nice change of clothes…"

"Err, I can't help, sorry," Paige said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Um… well, your friend Robbie wanted to hang out with me today and-"

"You're his girlfriend now?" I asked in disbelief.

She nodded.

"He's ok, and I can handle him. He'll have me back here by five since he's gotta go to this Mt. Pleasant for an away soccer game."

My head was spinning painfully.

"Leave it to us," Lindsay said. "Just go to work and bring home some strawberry pie."

"Yeah, I'd like a strawberry pie without all the anxiety," I muttered. "Well, I'll see you all soon, I guess."

I gathered up my things and left to go up home so I could go to work. I have such a bad feeling about this…

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Sorry for such a long wait everyone!

Jack and I have been busy out our ears! No time to tell you all about it now, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter since I rushed it a bit. It's been almost a full month since my last update! Gah! I'll have the next sooner, I promise! Thanks! Cya!

Please Review!


	12. It's a miracle!

(A/N – Shwoo, Jack! It's hot up here in southwestern Pennsylvania! Thank goodness the heat's gonna crack for the next three or four days… and we've got a pool! Well, for all of you out there with no pool or means of relief from heat, you have my sympathy and an invitation to my pool party this summer! That is if I'd ever have one…)

Particle Man, Reviewers! Woot!

x) Kenny - i'm sorry to here about Kate1 Please let me know what's going on with her when you find out! It's cool about the update thingy, though, LoL. I just hope nothing's up! Well, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully you'll like this one, too! Thanks! Enjoy!

x) Lauren - OMG! There you are! I thought I had lost you! Can I ask one thing? Did Jack have anything to do with your absence? Was duck tape involved? LoL. I'm so happy to hear from you again! I've gone a long way since you last read my stories, so I hope you can catch up! LoL. Please enjoy what I've written, and thank you! -passes rum and Combos - Let's celebrate! Bring Mort! Haha!

x) Sentinel Sparrow - Hey! No problem; I'd be more than glad to help you with your hopping bunny idea! Just send me your ideas, plots, characters, whatever, ect in an email, and I'll write back! Promise! Wow, I'm all excited and bouncing now. Hehe. Email's on my author page. Thnkas for the review, too! Enjoy the chapter!

x) Norma Jean - If you want to see Lumiere, I need your email! LoL. It won't let me post links on the site, otherwise I could hand it to you right now. Sorry. But if you don't have an email, I'll think of something! Enjoy the chapter! Thank you!

.: And Triangle, Universe, Person, and Triangle (again) Man, too! LoL… :.

**CLE – "First Date" by Blink-182**

Well, life is a big thing of disclaimers for that new, young, hopeless writer who has a dream of rocking the fanfiction kingdom with their story. How it sucks to be a new, young, hopeless, writer with a dream.

I own everyone/ thing not PotC related except for me and my PotC-loving buddies! Hi Lindz and Stewie! You are so cool! So is Paige even though she's made up (sort of), and Holly and Robbie and all you other losers that I love! Yay!

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CHAPTER TWELVE: "It's a miracle!"

Lindsay's PoV -

"Well, I'll see you all soon, I guess," Erica said before picking up her bag and heading out the front door in her pajamas still. I sighed as I heard her pull out and go two houses over to her place.

"Ok, I'm in charge!" I shouted. "Stewie, you're second in command, and don't let anyone tell you different."

"Aye aye, sir!" she said, saluting me promptly.

"Alright, first matter of business," I said, walking up to Paige. "What time is Robbie getting here?"

"Um, I'm meeting him at the playground," she replied. "I didn't know the address or phone number for this place – or any place, really – so I agreed to meet him down by Tree de Little."

"Works," I said. "What time?"

"Around eleven."

"So we got two hours to get you ready and the rest of the time to get Jack spiffed up," I thought aloud. "Paige, come with me, and I'll have you looking just like Robbie's type of girl."

"Though that doesn't sound good," Stewie commented.

"Oh, shoosh," I said. "Go with Jack til Paige and I are done. But first lead him to the bathroom and show him around so he can take a shower. And don't use all the hot water, Jack!"

11:45 am -

"You look great," I said, stepping back to take a look at my wonderful work. She looked just how I had envisioned it. Yes, I know, hold the applause.

"You sure?" Paige asked, spinning around and checking herself out in the full-length mirror in my bedroom.

"Positive. If he's taking you to lunch and then to his place to hang out, a pair of blue jeans with this nice brown sweater is great. And I'll grab you my old brown boot shoes. They'll throw the whole look together."

"Great," she said, taking the purse on the bed and heading out the bedroom door. "I really like that you've put my hair up, too. It's been getting in the way lately."

"Maybe you should get it cut," I suggested as we went through the living room and into the kitchen. "That's what I did."

"Nah, I like it long," Paige said. "No tampering with my hair, no way."

"Ok," I laughed. "Stewie! Jack! I'm taking Paige down to the playground! Be back in a few minutes! Be ready to go to the Westmoreland Mall!"

I heard a few screams and I big splash and other noises, then Stewie's strained and troubled voice shouted, "Okay! We'll be – AH! – ready!"

Paige and I exchanged looks.

"You sure everything's ok?" Paige asked. "Jack was supposed to get the shower on his own! If you fell for he needed help finding the towels…"

"Just go! We're good! AH! Jack! Get that thing away from me! Gross!"

Paige and I exchanged looks once more before I grabbed my car keys and we rushed out the door.

Jessica's PoV – 5 min earlier -

I was sitting against the bathroom door incase Jack needed anything listening to the Christmas songs playing on the radio. I had a notion to go over and change it to The X, but nah. I'm too lazy. Plus, I like this song!

"Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul…" I mumbled along with the radio. I was half asleep. Ergh…

"Erm, lassie?" I heard Jack yell suddenly. I shot up, cracking the back of my head off the door. Ow…

"What?" I asked.

"Um… let's just say you may be experiencing a bit of that déjà vu again…"

I did _not _like the way he said that.

I stood up and leaned into the door listening. The shower wasn't on anymore, and I was curious about his comment.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Come and see!"

"No way! Are you decent?"

Psh… Look who I'm asking (I'm just kidding Jack! I didn't mean it!).

"Yes, Mary. Now would you please assist me in the removal of my foot from this damn toilet!"

My eyes grew wide and I opened the door slowly. Sure enough, Jack's foot is stuck in the toilet just like it was when we got locked in the school last summer. And he was dressed, thank God.

"Jack, you bloody idiot!" I yelled. "How did you manage this! Nevermind, I don't want to know…"

He was poking at his foot with the toilet bowl brush cleaning wand stick thing when I grabbed his leg and tried to tug on it and pull it out, but no good. Hmm… how did we get it out at the school again?

"Jack, foot out of the boot," I commanded.

He whipped it out, and I flung back into the wall gasping for clean air.

"Oh my god, Jack! I thought you –_cough_- washed that putrid thing!" I yelled.

"I did!"

"Eww… stick it in the bathtub and keep it there!" I said, pouring some bubble bath suds in the water. It didn't help much, though. I started tugging on the boot still stuck in the toilet.

"It's stuck!"

"No duh," Jack said sarcastically.

"I… wait. Did you just say duh?" I asked in amazement.

"Oh no... I did, didn't I?" Jack asked, making a face as if he were overly contaminated.

"Stewie! Jack!"

We jumped at Lindsay's voice, and I stumbled backwards into Jack, sending him off his balance dangerously.

"I'm taking Paige down to the playground! Be back in a few minutes! Be ready to go to the Westmoreland Mall!" Lindsay shouted.

"Jack, we're gonna-!"

_SPLASH!_

"Okay!" I yelled back, trying to stand up. "We'll be – AH! – ready! Jack, stop poking me with that disgusting toilet brush!" I whispered angrily.

"So get off!"

"I'm trying!" I said, choking on the bubble bath suds.

"You sure everything's ok?" Paige asked. "Jack was supposed to get the shower on his own! If you fell for he needed help finding the towels…"

I slipped and fell down on top of Jack in the bathtub again, and he (again) was swatting me with that toilet brush!

"Just go! We're good!" I shouted to Paige and Lindsay as Jack continued hitting me. Ooo… "AH! Jack! Get that thing away from me! Gross!"

10 min later -

Jack and I were in the kitchen. I changed into an outfit from Lindsay's oh-so-wonderful dresser, but as for Jack… well, that's what hair dryers are for. He was standing arms out and feet apart as I ran the blow dryer over his now semi-damp clothes. Then, Lindsay came through the living room, stopping with a big grin when she saw us.

"Oh, hello, Jane," Jack said. "Didn't hear ye come in."

"I bet you didn't," she sniggered, sitting down at the kitchen table. "What were you two doing in the bathroom?"

"Use your imagination," I joked. "Nothing. What do you think?"

"Well, it sounded kinky, I'll give you that much," Lindsay commented. "I don't think Miss Garrett will like it that Jack's got an affair going on when he's trying to win her over…"

"Shut up," I laughed. "We've gotta get him ready!"

"Ready?" Jack said. "For what?"

"Your date!" Lindsay shouted. "New clothes, flowers, but we'll leave the hair. It'll take forever to get it back to normal anyways. Plus, undoing all that would give you a fro."

"Fro?" Jack asked.

"Oh, come on. To the Westmoreland Mall!" I shouted.

"Again!" Lindsay added as we ran out the door tugging Jack behind us.

Lindsay's PoV – At Westmoreland Mall -

"First things first!" I said. "To Kaufman's, Sears, and other big fancy sophisticated department stores to find Jack a decent outfit!"

"Is Hot Topic included in that?" Stewie asked hopefully.

"Mmm… nah," I said. "Sadly, I don't think Miss Garrett is attracted to guys in trench coats and black make up. Though in Jack's case, the kohl is the exception. You're gonna have to wipe that off tonight, you know," I said to him.

"I am?" he asked. "No way! You aren't messin' with me kohl. It's a real pain to get off. I haven't takin' it off in years. And even if ye attempted, there'd still be black rings because it's been there so long!"

"Grr, just our luck," I said. "Well, she's learned to love ya with the kohl; maybe it's your little admirable feature that sends her into that wonderful mood."

"Huh?"

"Don't try to make sense of it, let's just go," Stewie said, pulling him along as we entered Sears.

"We need a relaxed dress up shirt," I said. "Something that gives him the freedom of flanky sleeves but looks nice."

"So nothing with buttons on the wrists apparently," Stewie pointed out. "How about just a thin dark red sweater to match his bandana?"

"Good thinkin', Stewart!" I said. "I'll go get that, and you find him a pair of black pants, not jeans. Something casual like a guy would wear to church."

"On it!" she said, taking Jack's wrist again. "Meet at the dressing room?"

"Yep."

Dressing Room – 1 hour later -

"All right! Come in!" Jack called out to us after he took forever in the dressing room. Jessica and I jumped up from our slumped position against the wall and crowded around the dressing room door. Jack opened the door and we walked inside.

"Jack, you look… normal!" Stewie said. "It's a miracle!"

"Well, he may look normal, but he needs to brush up on acting normal," I said. "Jack, you, me, and Stewie are going home and working brutally and aggressively on how to behave on a first date."

"First?" Stewie asked before lowering her voice to whisper and saying to me, "But he can't keep seeing this girl!"

"Oh, stop it," I said. "He can't just break up with her their first time going out. By the way, Jack, what did you have in mind tonight for you and Miss Garrett."

"Well, Isabelle said something about dinner, but personally, I-"

"No!" I shouted. "You never try anything on a girl on your first date! Especially an older-fashioned woman like Miss Garrett! She's no country bumpkin, but still, she's not totally into the whole thing today."

"So what do I do?" Jack asked, quite depressed that he couldn't make advances on Miss Garrett yet.

"Well, you take her to nice place to eat and pay," Stewie said. "Don't worry; I'll lend you some money."

"And then you take her to do something fun afterwards," I said.

Jack's eyes lit up and he opened his mouth to argue his point, but Stewie and I just stared him down until he rolled his eye and leaned against the mirror.

"Like bowling," Stewie said.

"Bowling?" I asked. "No… something like… Ooo! I know!"

"What?"

"You could take her to the Christmas Carnival down were the county fairgrounds are!" I said. "It's the first year they've ever had it, and it's bound to be really fun. Plus, it's snowing. That adds to the romance factor like, plus five points."

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Stewie said.

"Well, Jack?" I asked.

"What's a carnival?"

"Smaller, less violent version of Kennywood," I said with a smile. He smiled to in relief, remembering all those big roller coasters and rides from last summer that made him puek with his showdown with Liz. Haha…

"Aye, I'll do it," he said finally.

"Great!" I said. "Now remember, take her somewhere nice to eat that's not too busy but has nice atmosphere."

"That rules out any bars, pubs, taverns, or Hooters clubs," Stewie said.

"Somewhere like…" I paused. Lightbulb! "Somewhere like Eat 'n Park," I said slyly. Stewie gave me this look, but I smiled big at her.

"But that's-"

I glared at her, and she picked up.

"That's a… super idea!" Stewie said, smiling up at Jack now. "Eat 'n Park would be the perfect place!"

"But isn't that where Gracey makes her livin' at?" he asked.

"Minor detail," I said. "You won't even see her. As for the carnival, it closes at midnight, Cinderella. Your arm will be broken by then if you aren't in my grandma's living room by that time tonight."

"All right," Jack said. "Ye lassies are very strict people."

"Yeah, well, it's payback for you being strict with us in the Caribbean," Stewie said. "By the way, when can we bring Thomas here?"

"Yeah, I miss him," I said. "And I wanna attack Gibbs again, too."

Jack flashed his famous smile as we waltzed out of the dressing room. I went to follow, but Stewie grabbed me by the shoulders and spun her around to face her.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're sending Jack to Eat 'n Park!" she whispered in hysterics. "Erica's gonna kill us!"

"She'll get over it," I said. "Besides, we'll be there, too."

"Oh, come on," she said. "I'm not tagging along on Jack's date!" Then I smiled, and she caught on. "But you aren't thinking like that," she said. "You wanna spy on them."

"From a safe distance," I said. "Like, the seat right behind them."

Stewie laughed and then said, "Well, won't it look weird? Us sitting right there?"

"Not if Will, Liz, and Paige are there with us," I said. "We'll just be going out for dinner by sheer coincidence. After all, I only gave Jack a suggestion. Who said he was really going to be there?"

"Somehow, Lindz, I don't think you really know Jack," Stewie said, shaking her head with a smile and walking out of the dressing room.

Erica's PoV – 8:30 pm -

Oh my god, I need a new job.

I just had this five-year-old brat of a kid purposely spill her soup all over me and her brother was chucking his food at me! And now I had to borrow one of my co-workers aprons, and I have about five more families and/or couples to seat! You would've thought Cynthia (my rival waitress who's eighteen and a slut) would've taken the opportunity to suck up and look good to the manager, but no. She didn't take it (but she wrote the names down on the list) so I'd get in trouble. And that's where I am now.

In trouble. Again.

"Now make sure every guest is seated where they want, and since they had to endure such poor waiting service, each party is allowed a fresh pie form the bakery of their choice!"

"Yes, Mr. Darson," I said after unsuccessfully arguing my case. "Sorry. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," he said a bit more calmly. "I don't want to lose such a fine person on my staff because she decided to slack off."

"I won't, sir," I said with a tiny smile.

"That's good. Now get going."

I nodded as he went back to tending to the café bar. I sighed and rolled my eyes angrily thinking of how much I could enjoy strangling Cynthia.

I walked up to the podium with the list on it, and I saw the name of Arvin. I looked up, and there was Lindsay, Stewie, Will, Elizabeth, and Paige waving at me. I smiled.

"Boy I am glad to see you guys," I said.

"Really?" Lindsay asked. "What's going on?"

"Oh nothing," I said, grabbing some menus for them and led them to a long row of booths along the large windows. "Cynthia got me in trouble with the manager, and if she does it again, I'm probably going to be fired."

"Well, that's not right," Liz said. "Especially if none of it's your fault."

"It never is usually," I said. "But hey; story of my life. Okay, take your time, and I'll be back with your drinks since I already know what you want. Will, Liz, Paige, you get surprised."

They smiled, and I sighed, thankful at least my friends were here to take a load off me for a while. Then I returned to the podium to seat the next couple/ family before getting my friends their drinks. I got a bit scared when I saw the next name however. My smile faded, and I looked up.

"Evening, Gracey! Nice place ye got here!"

There was Jack with Miss Garrett. My mouth hung open.

"Lindsay's suggestion, right?" I asked.

"Her idea," he whispered with a nod.

I gripped the menus angrily in my hands before muttering lowly, "I'm gonna kill her…"

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Yee haw! That was one of the longer chapters so far! –bows-

I hope you liked it! As promised, not a month later as the last chapter, lol. I'm looking for work now at a pizza shop, preferably Domino's in town since our neighbors own it, lol. I hope I get it! And Jack, no sneaking pepperoni.

Please Review!


	13. More napkins?

(A/N – Okay, Stewie and I went and saw the 'Bewitched' movie this past Friday when it came out, and if you haven't seen it, go see it! It's a riot! Jack had to eat most of my Snow Caps, though. And if you did see it and you're familiar with the threequel here, isn't odd that the actors in the movie are named Jack and Isabel? I realized it twenty minutes before the movie was over, LoL. And for those of you who also read 'Yo ho, yo ho!' there's an Aunt Clara in the movie, too! Weird, eh?)

Any Reviewers out there love Snow Caps?

x) Kenny - Bonjour! LoL... Tell Kate she's got reading to catch up on! Well, unfortunately, no job at Domino's, but I'm going for the new WalMart that's opening up here outside of town at the end of next month. I hope to get somewhere before school's in again! Thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!

x) Norma Jean - Don't worry, you will see Thomas again, promise. :) No problem about Kennywood, either, haha. I love Kennywood! I plan to go this summer, but I doubt it... :( Ah well... I understand totally about the emal thing; my mom used to be the same way. Glad you liked the last chapter! Hope you like this one, too, and thanks for reviewing!

.: You know, the little chocolates with the white dots on them? Yummm… :.

**CLE – "Hey Ya" by Outkast**

I'm going to try and request a Bewitched movie ASAP when I'm done writing the story, so I have to get used to disclaimers for that I guess as well as the PotC ppl. Disclaimer! GAH!

But I own everyone else; we've been through this, LoL.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: "More napkins?"

With gritted teeth and really bad names running through my mind to call Lindsay when I had her cornered next, I led them to the only remaining booth right in front of Lindsay, Stewie, Will, Lizzy, and Paige. My eyes widened, and I turned to Jack and Miss Garrett with a weird smile plastered on my face.

"Would you prefer the booth or the table?" I said trying to emphasize more on the table by making my eyes bigger in Jack's direction. He scrunched up his brow, giving me this look.

"Well, err… what do you want, Isabelle, darling?" he asked her.

"I'd like the booth," she said, nodding with a smile.

Crap.

"All right, right here," I said as they sat down. I was trying not to let them see Dipface and her band of followers as they sat down, and I succeeded that much. I handed them their menus feeling very awkward. "Um, what can I get you to drink?" I asked, pulling out my little yellow notepad.

"I'll have iced tea," Miss Garrett said sweetly before looking over at Jack.

"Rum," he said.

As if I didn't see _that _one coming.

"Jack, we don't serve rum here," I said calmly.

"How about champagne?" he asked. "It's sort of a special evening for us."

My eyes widened. Special evening? What was so special about it?

"I'm sorry, we're out," I said a bit sarcastically. "Is there anything else I could bring you such as Coke, Sprite, or water?"

"Erm… Aye. I'll have a water," he said before lowering his voice to speak to me. "Ye're actin' a bit funny, Grace. Ye feelin' all right?"

"Peachy," I said, looking over at Lindsay's table angrily as she, Stewie, and Paige started eating those little packs of sugar and laughed stupidly.

"Ye're sure?" Jack asked me. I snapped my head back over to smile at Jack and Miss Garrett with my plastered smile.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just tired from the shift. Now, I'll leave you two to order, and I'll be back in five minutes."

They nodded and I walked off rubbing my forehead as it pounded painfully. I stopped in the back for a split second and pulled a small bottle of Tylenol aspirin out of my apron and popped two into my mouth quickly before seating the next four families/ couples. Then I ran back to Lindz and Stewie's table, and they were so sugar high. I didn't care, though; I grabbed Lindsay by the shirt and then I hit her over the head with one of the menus I was holding.

"Ow!" she moaned, rubbing her head and looking at me with a mean face. I had apparently gotten all of their attention now. "What was all that about?" she asked.

"Well you outta know, Miss Take-Her-To-Eat-N-Park!" I whispered angrily.

"Calm down!" Lindsay said. "Trust me!"

"Oh, trust you?" I asked with a huff. "It's a 'special evening!' Now tell me, buddy-buddy-kins, what's so 'special' about it!"

"Special?" Stewie said. "He never said anything to us about it being a special night."

"He didn't?" I asked, the color draining from my face. "Oh my god… what do you think he's up to?" Lindsay and Stewie looked up at me with big eyes.

"No," Liz interrupted with a short laugh. "No, no… Jack wouldn't. I mean, come on, girls. This is Jack Sparrow."

"Captain," Paige, Lindsay, Stewie, and I said in unison.

"I stand corrected," she said. "But all the same, get a hold of yourselves! Jack wouldn't… he's only known her-"

"Less than thirty-six hours," I said without hesitation. "But still, Elizabeth, it's _Jack_…"

"Oh, you're right."

Then I looked back at Lindz and Stewie.

"Okay, would you quit with the evil eye?" Stewie asked. "We'll handle it."

"Oh no you won't!" I said. "Bad things happen when I leave you two to handle things I should take care of myself! The Earth is will crumble, get sucked into a black hole, and you two'll still find something to mess up!"

After that, Jessica looked pretty offended, but Lindsay just sighed, leaned back in her seat, and smiled.

"You need to chill – out."

I took a deep breath and apologized.

"Okay, I'm sorry I did that, I just-"

"We know," Paige said. "Now, you gonna take our orders, or do we need to report you?" she asked with a smile.

"I'd probably deserve it," I said, taking out my notepad again. "What can I get you guys to eat?"

"Um… you know what Stewie and I want," Lindsay said. "But the others…"

"Hmmm… I want one of those big breakfast platters," Paige said. "I want breakfast really bad for some reason."

"You're not the only one," Lizzy said. "I'll have the broiled cod with a side of three pancakes and a strawberry milkshake."

I bent my brow (just now remembering how weird these people are that I know) as I scribbled down their orders with Will beginning to tell me that he wanted the giant burger with onion rings.

"Right-o," I said, walking up to Jack and Miss Garrett's table next. "What can I get you two to eat?"

"Stir fry for her and I'll have the New York Strip things…" Jack said.

"Sides?" I asked Miss Garrett.

"Baked potato and salad bar," she said.

"Jack?"

"Erm… whatever's fine. I'm not really too good at this ordering thing. A bit confused…" he said quietly to me.

"You? Confused?" I asked sarcastically. "I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Lass, ye're pushin' it…" Jack said dangerously.

"So that's two baked potatoes and two salad bars then." I said, ignoring him. "I'll be back with your food, but until then enjoy the salad bar."

I walked away and up to the podium again where even more people were waiting to be seated. I looked over at the café bar, having that feeling that someone was watching me. And someone was: Mr. Darson, my manager. He looked very impatient. I sighed as I looked back at the people.

I'm gonna be fired.

- Lindsay's PoV -

"Right-o," Erica said before moving up to Jack's table in front of us. I stretched my neck to try and see them, but there were some plants in the way. Then I crouched back down to talk to Paige, Stewie, Will, and Liz.

"Okay, something is really up," I said. "No doubt."

"I know!" Stewie said. "Jack never said anything about it being a special night! He's up to something…"

"Yeah, but why is he?" Paige asked.

"I don't know what's gotten into him," Elizabeth said. "He's acting rash if he's going to do what I think he is."

"Elizabeth, you're acting just like them," Will laughed. "Like you were a young girl chatting with her friends at afternoon tea or something."

"And what's wrong with that?" I asked as we all stared him down.

"Yeah, what's so wrong about it?" Lizzy asked.

"Nothing, I just-"

"We don't care. So, we need to find out what they're saying," I said. "You here anything, Liz?"

Suddenly, Jack and Miss Garrett got up and headed for the salad bar. My eyes widened as I got up and pulled Elizabeth and Paige with me.

"What are you doing?" Paige asked.

"We're gonna spy on them," I said. "From the other side of the salad bar."

"What!"

Once we got there, I picked up a plate and followed Jack and Miss Garrett along the buffet. I listened closely putting things on my plate here and there, but I didn't really get to hear anything of importance except that she was having a wonderful time, ect. I rolled my eyes at this fruitless pursuit and went back to the table before Jack and Miss Garrett.

"Hey, where's Stewie?" I asked Will when we got back.

- Jessica's PoV -

So Lindsay, Paige, and Elizabeth left me there with Will.

"Please don't tell me you're gonna pull something off like that," he asked.

"Of course not," I said. "When I pull something, it's always something better, more risky, and a lot more stupid with a good point behind it all."

I got up, but Will reached across the table and pulled me back.

"No, wait! What are you doing?"

"Going to the bathroom as far as you're concerned," I said.

Then I ripped away from him and looked up at the salad bar. Jack and Miss Garrett were almost on their way back, so, being the super genius I am, I dived under their table so I could eavesdrop. Then, they came back, and I was in the fetal position so I didn't touch them.

"Mmm, great salad," Miss Garrett said.

Great salad? What a loser…

"Aye," Jack said before he repositioned himself and almost cracked me with his boot. My mouth was frozen open with shock since he was so close to hitting me, but them he resumed talking. "I wanted to ask you something."

My eyes got bigger. Huh? Ask her what! WHAT!

"What would that be?" Miss Garrett asked with a laugh.

Then it came… that big surprised _GASP_…

Bad. Very Bad.

"Isabelle, will… will ye marry me?"

I clapped my hands over my mouth to let hold any sound in that my escape me. He actually proposed to someone! Oh my God! I didn't think Jack would ever settle down with somebody! Holy crap… This isn't happening…

Plus, what a lame proposal. I mean, in a restaurant? Apparently, someone didn't tell Jack about that.

But why should we when he isn't supposed to be proposing to anyone in the first place!

"Oh, Jack," Miss Garrett sighed all romantically. I rolled my eyes. "I haven't known you that long at all…"

Yes! Come on! Turn him down! You can do it!

"But in such a short time, you've treated me better than any other man I've been with has; like a real gentleman and I can't tell you how important means to me, considering some of the jerks I've dated."

NO! He IS a jerk! Gah… What the hell did he do to win her over that fast! Wait, I don't wanna know… but then again I do… Oh, screw it!

I swallowed and shut my eyes, waiting to hear those words…

"Yes, Jack. I will marry you," Miss Garrett said quietly. Her voice was all choked up, and I could just see the tears of 'joy' running down her face, and I can so see Jack being murdered when the rest of us get our hands on him…

"Great!" he said sharply, putting his glass down on the table. "I'm glad ye've put so much trust in me."

Psh… trust. Yeeeaah…

"Oh, you've been marvelous," Miss Garrett, said.

Marvelous? What is _wrong_ with these people?

She repositioned herself with her hands pressed down on the seat momentarily, and I saw the ring. Oh crap! That thing was huge! Where did he get that thing! Rob West Side Jewelry!

Suddenly, I saw Erica standing in front of the table. She was giving them their food, so I tried to snake around Jack and Miss Garrett's legs to get her attention if she hadn't already caught sight of that giant rock on her hand. I tugged at her apron, and she looked down letting out a short scream, but I held my finger up to my mouth so shut her up.

- Erica's PoV -

"Here you go, guys," I said, setting the plates down in front of Miss Garrett and Jack. "Would you like any refills? More napkins?"

"No, that'll be just fine, Gracey," Jack, said. "We're-"

Suddenly, I felt something pulling on my apron and looked down. When I saw Stewie there, I screamed quickly before she signaled me to shut up. I looked up at Jack and Miss Garrett trying to recover and make sense of what I had just seen.

"Is something wrong?" Jack asked me. "Ye're very jumpy and irritable tonight, lassie…"

"No, no, I'm good," I lied. "It was just… um…"

"Is there, like, a rat or something under the table, or-" Miss Garrett went to look under the table since I had made that pretty obvious, but I stopped her.

"No, everything's fine," I said, grabbing her hand. "You two just enjoy your meal and…"

Then I saw it. There was this big diamond ring on her hand that wasn't there before. I stared with my mouth open somewhat, but Miss Garrett's smile only grew as she took her hand back. I looked from her and then at Jack who smiled at me.

How dare he!

"Yes, isn't it wonderful?" Miss Garrett asked admiring her ring. "Jack just proposed to me. I'm so excited!"

I laughed nervously, not sure of what to do now, though I was seconds away from taking my tray and smacking Jack upside the head with it. I looked back at him and he only kept smiling. I don't know what for! He's dead!

"Oh, really?" I asked, trying to sound happy. "That's… super! In that case, since it's such a special night, free dessert! You two just go on up to the bakery and pick something out," I said, trying to coax them out of the booth.

"We can wait," Miss Garrett said.

"Oh, not a good idea if you do," I said. "All the good stuff will be gone."

"Really?" she asked, looking over at Jack.

"Yes! Of course!" I said. "You better hurry! Heck, grab a strawberry pie on the house as well because you waited so long to be seated."

"But-"

"Go on! Hurry!"

They stood up and started towards the front. When Jack walked passed me, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt angrily and whispered dangerously in his ear slowly, "I am going to kill you."

He gave me that look, and I let him go before he was too far behind and Miss Garrett started asking questions. He straightened his shirt and walked up beside her, and once they were out of sight, I bent down and motioned Stewie out from underneath the table.

"Jess! He _proposed_!" I whispered hysterically.

"I know, I know!" she said. "I got under there when they went up to the salad bar so I could listen in since we didn't hear too well from the booth, but I couldn't believe he… he did… that!"

"Oh, I'm gonna strangle him to death!" I said as we went back one booth to see everyone else sitting there.

"Stewie! There you are!" Lindsay said. "Will said you went to the bathroom, but he also said you weren't telling him the truth. What's going on?"

"He proposed to her!" I said.

Lindsay looked up at Stewie and me in disbelief, as did Paige, Will, and Lizzie after choking on drinks, dropping silverware, ect.

"He WHAT?" Will asked.

"How did you find out?" Elizabeth asked.

"I was hiding under the table when he did it, and then Erica came and I scared her, and then I'm guessing you saw it?" Stewie asked me.

I nodded quickly, turning back to them. They all looked completely shocked like us but still trying to think of something we could do.

"Well, suggestions on how we kill him?" I asked.

"We can try to split them up," Paige said.

"No, Jack's gonna want us to support him," Lindsay said.

"Too late," I said angrily. "But I guess you're right. But I am still flipping out on him! He had no right to do that!"

"I agree," Lindsay said, "but we can't let them out of our sight."

"No way in hell," I said.

"So what? Now we're gonna stalk them all night at the Christmas Carnival?" Stewie asked. We all looked up at her.

"That's a very good idea," Will said, pointing at her.

"No it's not," I said. "My shift isn't over until ten."

"Well it's 9:15 now," Paige said. "Can't someone cover for you?"

"Not after the trouble I just got into," I said. "Oh, but I have to be there!"

Just then, Jack and Miss Garrett appeared at my side, and they looked down at everyone. Jack looked at them with narrow eyes, but Miss Garrett was all the more pleased.

"Oh, hello!" she said. "We've got our pies now, Erica, but it's wonderful to see you all here!"

"Aye," Jack said, looking at Lindsay now.

"Hey, we were here first," she said defensively.

Jack leaned back a bit, but Miss Garrett continued.

"Oh, Jack, tell them the good news," she said, grabbing hold of his arm.

"Yeah, Jack. What's so wonderful?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, erm… I… Isabelle and I are… engaged."

We all faked our gasps of surprise and put on smiles.

"Wonderful!" Will said. "Congratulations!"

"Thank ye," Jack said, feeling proud now.

"Oh, no problem," Paige said. "So, when's the wedding?"

"Err… we haven't really discussed that yet," Jack said with a small laugh.

"Well, let us know," Lindsay said. "You guys heading out to the Carnival now?"

"Well, we were going to finish eating first…"

"Okay, well, you do that," I said. "See you soon!"

Once they were back at their table, Lindsay and the others jumped up out of their seats.

"Head for the car now," I said. "I'll be right out."

"But your shift…"

"Screw it, just go. If I'm not out there but the time they leave, go without me."

Lindsay nodded, and they left.

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Yeah! Longer chapter! Woot!

Dun dun dun… Now what's gonna happen? Havoc at the Christmas Carnival coming in the next chapter! And lots more! Hope you liked it! But guess what? Mr. Stutzman, our legend chorus teacher/ musical director of 35 years retired! We'll miss him so much, but let's hope he comes back to do the musicals since they won't ever be as good without him! Jack! Onto Chapter Fourteen!

Please Review!


	14. I love purple!

(A/N – WOOT! Charlie and The Chocolate Factory out NEXT WEEK! Sorry, I'm just really excited. That, and I might be getting a job at a fruit stand on the side of the highway across from a cemetery! Weird, huh? Oh well! Let's hope everything's gonna work out!)

You Reviewers gonna go to the theater July 15?

x) Sentinel Sparrow - First Q: Very. I have a clone of him, I know. Second Q: Patience is a virtue! Third Q: Very good suspicions! I'm proud! LoL. Glad ou liked the last chapter! Thanks and Enjoy this one!

x) Kenny - Oh, Jack is very piratey, lol. I promise much more twisting and turning, don't worry. I'm happy you liked! Thanks for reviewing and enjoy! BTW, you and Kate interested in some pirate names? Most of my reviewers have them, so check out my Author page for that! there's a list, LoL.

x) Norma Jean - I LOVE Snowcaps! I'm getting them again tonight when I go to see the movie, lol. I'm sorry he didn't propse to you, but hey, a little fantasizing mixed in with pretend never hurt anyone! Haha... Thanks for the review! Enjoy!

.: I hope I will be! Jack! You, me, Holly, Stewie, and Lindsay better grab some snacks:.

**CLE – "My Christmas List" by Simple Plan**

DISCLAIMER! I own nothing! Nothing that anybody else made up, anyways… Darn you, Disney…

But I'll take over the world with my creations/ friends one day and brainwash you all as Disney has! Well, maybe I won't brainwash you since you're all so nice, but I'll come pretty darn close! ;)

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN: "I love purple!"

Okay, now I had a new dilemma to deal with. Jack (THAT STUPID BEEPING BEEP BEEPER! BEEPITY BEEP BEEP BEEP! BEEEEEP! -deep breath- I'll kill him.) had proposed to a girl I told him was off limits. He really has no understanding of the word 'no,' does he? He can make rules, but doesn't have to follow them, huh?

In a sense, that is awesome. The life I wanna have…

But right now I wanna knock his head off!

I walked up to the lobby where the podium had an even bigger line in front of it. I looked over at the café and saw Cynthia sitting there sipping her coffee slowly. That slutty no good (insert profanity of choice here). I wouldn't even bother to ask; she's too lazy. I'm amazed she can hold up her coffee cup all by herself.

"Excuse me, Miss Ritenour…" I turned around at Mr. Darson tapping my shoulder. "These people are waiting to be seated."

"I can see that, sir," I said as politely and calmly as possible. "But I could better do my job if Cynthia over there was doing hers alongside me."

"She's on break," he said. I glared at him angrily, my mouth opening in disgust at what he had just said. He never said things like that! Everyone was supposed to be on the job! After I shut my mouth, I boiled over.

"Well then Mr. Darson, so am I," I said, handing him my tray.

"Oh no," he said, handing it back to me. "You have customers to seat."

Ok, that's it.

"No, I don't," I said hotly, shoving it into his hands this time. "If Cynthia can go on a break in the middle of the dinner rush, then so can I. I have an issue and have to leave. It's an emergency. Or wait, do you consider emergencies part of _my_ employee rights or just Cynthia's?"

"Miss Ritenour, I'm getting very impatient with you. I do not promote favoritism amongst my employees-"

"Oh really!" I asked. "Well, I'll tell you what. You and Cynthia can sit you butts at the café and sip all the coffee you want as slowly as you want! I QUIT!"

At that, I stormed through the crowd of people and into the parking lot. I saw Lindsay, Stewie, Will, Liz, and Paige sitting the corner parking space in Lindsay's Dad's white van and ran over to the driver's side window. Lindsay rolled down the window.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Oh… I just barged out of there after yelling at Mr. Darson," I said weakly, realizing the crap I had just pulled. Brave and good to know I stood up for myself, but now I'm jobless, broke, and I left my coat in there! It's freezing with all this snow hitting me!

"Let me guess," Lindsay said. "Fired?"

"Nope, I quit," I said. "Jack and Miss Garrett come out yet?"

"If they would have, would I be here?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"Aren't you cold?" Will asked, leaning forward to get a better look at me.

"Freezing," I shivered, rubbing my arms. All I had on was black pants, white short-sleeved shirt, and that stupid green apron. Eh, I miss my coat!

"Hop in," Stewie said. "Heater's on."

"Got room?" I asked sarcastically.

"Plenty!" Stewie said.

"It's fine," I said. "I gotta go get my car out of the employee parking before they tow it away anyways. I'll come park up here next to you guys til Jack and Miss Garrett get out here to go. Where's their car?"

"About five over, not counting the empty spaces," Paige said.

I looked; dark blue Taurus.

"Okay, I see it," I said. "I'm gonna go now. Be right back."

Lindsay rolled the window back up, and I jogged back behind the building to get in my car. I immediately turned on the heater, trying to stop my violent shivering. Then I pulled out and went around to where the others were, but the car was gone. I bent my brow, rounding the corner. I saw them at the exit. Miss Garrett's car was heading to the red light now, so I followed behind Lindsay since she followed them.

As we all got onto the highway, I called Lindsay's cell phone. Paige picked up.

"Hello?"

"Grace! It's Paige!"

"Obviously," I said. "Tell Lindsay to park farther away from Jack and Miss Garrett when we go in there. I don't want them to know that we're sort of stalking them."

Oh my God! Now I'm a stalker! And it's all Jack's fault! All those things I've done just because of him! Ah…

"Park in the third lot," Paige said after a few seconds. "Oh, and Grace, your friend Robbie is really great."

"Great in what sense?" I asked. "How did the date go today?"

"Okay. I went to his house, met his family, he taught me soccer in his backyard for an hour or two, and then we walked through the drive thru at the Dairy Queen ice cream place. It was funny!"

Figures. That's Robbie.

"Okay, well, see you in a few minutes."

- At the Fairgrounds -

Lindz, Stewie, Paige, Will, Liz, and I were about eight people behind Jack

and Miss Garrett at the ticket gate. I was still freezing since it was still snowing and thirty-seven degrees out, but Will lent me his jacket since he had a big sweater on. It was really Stewie's brother's jacket, but oh well. Thanks, whichever brother's jacket this is.

"How much is it?" I asked, digging in my purse for my wallet.

"Umm… five bucks for ride all night," Elizabeth said, stretching to read the

sign up ahead.

"Five?" I asked. "Wow, that's cheaper than I thought it would be. But then

again, this isn't the County Fair."

"Jack and Isabelle have entered the carnival," Will said, stretching just as

Liz had.

"Oh, crap!" I said. "We're gonna loose 'em!"

"Nah, we'll find them," Stewie said. "A lot of the fairgrounds are closed off

since this thing isn't too big. I think it's only being used by half of the grounds…"

"That's still a lot," Lindsay said. "We'll split up then."

"Lindsay, how often does splitting up work for us?" I asked.

"How often are we trying to track down Jack and his new fiancée?" she

fired back.

"Shut up," I said. "Fine. Um… Liz, Stewie, and you go left and Will, Paige

and I'll head to the right. Meet you… somewhere. Have your phone on. I'll walkie-talkie you."

"Kay," Lindsay said as we approached the ticket booth and entered. We

looked around, seeing all of this for the first time. "Okay, see the cocoa stand over there?"

She pointed to this colorful stand to the right, and I nodded.

"We'll meet up there in about an hour, provided nothing comes up," she

said.

"But something always does," Paige added.

"Of course!" I said. "Wouldn't be right if it didn't! Come on Will. We've got

ourselves a Sparrow to hunt, shoot, and kill…"

- Lindsay's PoV -

I will not hurt Stewie… I will not hurt Stewie…

Ever have to tell yourself something over and over so you don't do it?

"One more time!" she wailed. "Please! It's fun!"

"Stewie! I'm not riding that stupid little car ride again! That was the eight and final time! We have to look for Jack and Miss Garrett, okay? Come on!"

"Can I still get cotton candy?" she moaned, trudging out of the line.

"If you hurry up."

She raced up next to Elizabeth as we walked pass a long row of game stands and picnic tables sheltered by flimsy pop-up gazebo things. Not two seconds later and she did her 'Ooo,' jump up, and point at one of the games.

"I wanna do it! I see an poster!" she shouted, running over to the stand. Liz and I rolled our eyes before following up behind her. "How do you play?" she asked the bored-looking guy wearing a Santa hat.

"Toss the ping pong ball into a goldfish bowl. Each of them has a color on the bottom of the bowl that you hit. Yellow is a small prize, blue is medium, and red is large. There are five purple ones, and those are extra large prizes. Two dollars a try; every try's a winner."

Stewie gasped.

"I love purple!" she said. "Lindsay, can I pleeeeease play? Please please please please-"

"After you find Jack and Miss Garrett," I said unreasonably.

Jess's shoulders dropped, and she quickly scanned the small bit of carnival in front of us.

"There they are," she said simply, pointing straight in front of us. "In line for that spinney up-and-down ride. Now can I _please_ play!"

I looked in disbelief at where she was pointing, and there they were standing in line and finishing up a candied apple! My mouth hung open as I looked back at her, but she was too busy bumming me for two bucks to play a game! Man, a deal's a deal…

"Here," I said, slapping a five in her hand and making her the happiest person ever. "Let's go," I said to Elizabeth. She nodded, and we slid into the line.

"They're on the ride," Elizabeth said.

"Good. Come on," I said, moving forward.

"Wait, we're going on the ride with them?" she asked uneasily. "I'll pass."

"But you have to come! I promise it's not as bad as Kennywood. It's a Christmas Carnival for gosh sakes! I'm sure they don't wanna make anyone throw up. Besides, it's just a Music Express. I love this ride!"

We got onto the ride platform, not letting Miss Garrett or Jack see us. We got in a seat behind them, one between them and us. Then we started going, the song 'Sleigh Ride' blasting through the giant speakers.

"Can you hear what they're saying!" Elizabeth shouted.

"What!"

"Can you hear what they're saying!" she repeated.

"HUH!"

- 5 minutes later -

Okay, so not the best ride to listen in on conversations...

We came off the ride looking around for Jack and Miss Garrett. They were the first ones off, and we were the last. How convenient.

"I think we lost them," Elizabeth said.

"Damn," I hissed. "Where's Stewart?"

We looked up at the game stand she was last seen at. And of course she's still standing there. I game her enough for two games; what's taking her forever? We walked up to her. She was arguing with the Santa hat guy.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I got a purple goldfish bowl on my second try and he says I didn't!" she said.

"Oh my god, just give her the giant poster!" I yelled. "I have some people to stalk, so can we get this over with!"

Stewie stuck out her tongue and swiped her extra large poster out of the man's hands and even took the purple goldfish bowl, too. I rolled my eyes as we sat at one of the covered picnic tables thinking of where to go next.

- Erica's PoV -

"WOO! YEAH!"

"Can you please stop screaming in my ear!" Will yelled.

"I'm sorry! I love the Ring of Fire! WOO!"

"Grace, please!"

"Oh, live a little! Screaming is fun! It's a great way to vent all the excitement rushing through your veins! Don't you remember Kennywood from last summer! YEAH!"

"Do I have to?"

"No, but it's a lot more fun if you do! AHH!"

Eventually, I heard Will screaming next to me. When we walked off of the giant black roller coaster loop, I smiled up at him.

"I'm proud of you, mate!" I said as we laughed, walking out of the gate. Paige was standing there with snow all over her. She had sat this one out, deciding to wait for us instead.

"Fun?" she asked.

"Yeah," Will said. "In fact, screaming is fun. I wanna scream some more."

"Well, okay, let's-"

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"Ooo, my phone," I said. "Maybe Lindsay's seen Jack and Miss Garrett." I pulled it out of my purse and turned up the volume. "Hello?"

"_KRH!_ It's Lindsay! Over! _KRH_," she said.

_KHR_? I pressed the button to answer, unsure of her anymore. We aren't in the military. What's with the _KRH_-ing and the 'over' stuff? I decided to leave it be. This is Lindsay and Stewie. Let them have their fun.

"Lindz, did you see them?" I asked.

"_KRH!_ Don't call me that! We're Team Rudolph and you're Team Elf. Oh, and positive; we just saw Jack Frost and Snow Angel over here by the Music Express. Over! _KRH_!"

"Okay, Team Rudolph," I said sarcastically, "which way were they headed? Did you see?"

"_KRH!_ No, we lost them as we hustled off the ride, over! _KRH_!"

"Stop it," I said. "Be serious! We need to find them!"

"_KRH!_ And what is more serious than the army, may I ask? Over! _KRH_!"

I sighed hopelessly.

"Team Rudolph is to rendezvous with Team Elf at Cocoa Stand in 0-5 minutes!" I shouted, getting annoyed now. "Move out!"

"But we're hot on a trail here!" Lindsay said, minus the _KRH_-ing and 'over.'

"You just lost them! How are you hot on the trail!"

"I said we _just_ lost them, not we lost them two hours ago."

"We weren't here two hours ago," I said flatly.

Suddenly, Stewie's whiny voice came over the walkie-talkie.

"Erica… pleeeeease?"

"Please what?" I asked.

"Let us keep looking! I want to find Jack before it's too late because he's making a mistake!"

Okay, that was not my best friend.

"Where's Stewie and what have you done with her?"

"I'm about thirty feet away in line for the Ferris wheel and you better turn off the walkie-talkie about now," she said.

"What?" I asked.

Then, I felt a tap on my shoulders. Thinking it was Paige or Will, I turned around about to yell at them for interrupting me, but my face froze in shock when I saw that it was Jack smiling at me knowingly with Miss Garrett at his side.

I swallowed hard, losing my voice entirely. I slowly lowered my phone back into my purse with a hesitant smile playing on my face. I knew he wanted an explanation, but I couldn't find a lie good enough to pass off as the truth. Not yet, anyways. Will and Paige were on either side of them looking at me with wide eyes.

Damnit. I was caught.

"Eh heh heh… Hi Jack, Miss Garrett," I said politely. "Nice evening, huh?"

"Beautiful," Jack said. "Fancy running into you three. Where are Liz and the other two scallywags?"

"Haha, good question," I said. "Well, we'll see you later, Jack! Bye Miss Garrett! Have a great time!"

At that, I parted them, grabbed Will and Paige, and walked out of sight. In more detail, into the North Pole Fun House. I could not believe that had happened! Crapola!

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I love being a spy! Woot!

Hope you all liked the chapter! I am now one and a half hours away from going to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Stewie! I'm so PUMPED! Woohoo! I'm sorry for the wait, but I promised to have it up by the 15th, and ta da! Here it is! Well, let's go Jack! Time to go watch another version of your hotness!

Jack: -_confused-_

It's okay. Don't fry your brain over it.

Please Review!


	15. No!

(A/N – Okay, so life's hectic at the moment. Jack and I are leaving for camp on the 31st, and I'm still trying to get my camp buddy Lori to fill out the papers to go! I'll kill her if she doesn't, considering the church will pay for us both. But it's the 22nd now, so I will be done with this and have it posted before we leave. Oh, and Charlie and the chocolate Factory ROCKS!)

Who loves purple like Stewie, Reviewers?

x) Norma Jean - Huzzah! LoL... Me, Lindz, and Stewie love to run around saying that especially when we're at Vicky's house screaming in our British accents, haha. GASP! Rum and Snowcaps? PARTY AT STEWIE'S! Thanks and enjoy!

.: You can't come between Stewie and her purple… not a possible feat :.

**CLE – "Helena" by My Chemical Romance**

Whoo hoo hoo! Disclaimer…

And Claimer for my wonderfully cool friends/ creations….

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN: "No!"

- Jessica's PoV -

I was in line with Liz and Lindz (hey, that's confusing!) watching as Erica turned around and saw Jack and Miss Garrett coming. The three of us held our breaths as we saw everything happened until the guy in the Rudolph ears and nose pushed us into a balloon-shaped carriage on the Ferris wheel. We went halfway up and stopped near the top, and Erica, Will, and Paige had made a getaway into the fun house.

"We've been spotted," Lindsay said, stating the obvious.

"Duh," I said. "Now what?"

"Um… cocoa stand?"

I considered.

"Brilliant," I said simply. "Good. Very good."

- At the Cocoa Stand -

Erica, Will, and Paige were already there and had been very nice to order cocoa for us! We sat at this nearby picnic table as the snow stated getting thicker and falling faster.

"Um, guys, what time is it?" I asked.

Erica pulled out her cell phone and checked the time.

"It's a quarter after eleven," she said, putting it away again.

"Maybe we should get going," I said. "The snow's really hitting now."

"Yeah, and I'll be hitting later on, too," Erica said with a dangerous glare.

"Maybe we should go," Will said. "A lot of the crowd has thinned out tonight already. It's getting pretty bad."

"No!" Lindsay and Erica said in unison. "Not until I see Jack alone," Erica finished. "That way we can all jump him."

"Jump who?"

The six of us spun around (or looked up, depending which side of the picnic table you were on; I had to turn around), and there was Jack. He was all alone, which made me want to pounce on him before that Miss Garrett showed up again.

"Hello, ladies and Will," Jack said, leaning in on the edge of the picnic table. "Enjoying your evening?"

"To the point where I'm about to murder," Erica said with the biggest and fakest grin I've ever seen. "You and the future Mrs. Sparrow having the time of your lives?"

"Answer wisely," Lindsay warned with a similar glare at him. "Because it's a life or death question."

"No, he's gonna die slowly and painfully either way," Erica said.

Jack backed up a bit, actually looking at me for help when Will, Paige, and Liz made sure that they had gotten it clear they had sided with Erica and Lindz. Eh… no fair! I love Jack! But then again… the bum…

"Sorry, Jack," I said. "You broke your promise."

"Yeah, and isn't that just as bad as breaking the code to some extents?" Will asked sarcastically. "Like, mutiny? Abandoning your crew?"

"No, no," Jack said. "Ye tried that last summer at Gracey's. Nice try."

"Yeah, well, that was fun and games then," I said.

"Yeah," Lindsay said.

"And besides, Jack, in case you didn't hear me the first time we explained it to you, she's off limits!" Erica bellowed. "And you still went and disobeyed us! Ooo… if I had a ship, I'd keelhaul ya!"

Jack leaned away a bit before trying to speak again, but Erica wouldn't let him.

"NO!" she shouted. "I don't wanna hear it! You can't marry her, you can't see her anymore! No more! Got it?"

"And we'll make sure of it," Lindsay said, coming up next to Erica.

"Definitely," I said, following suit.

"Okay, let me say something," Jack said. "First off, this is me own choice. I will see who I want, where, when, and why without ye pokin' in on me business!"

"Business?" I laughed. "What? You hired her?"

"Psh, I wouldn't doubt it," Paige said, arms folded.

"I didn't buy her off!" Jack said, getting angry. "Now stop with the nonsense!"

"It's not nonsense!" Erica shouted. "It's out of hand! Jack, I know for a fact had any one of us pulled what you are back in the Caribbean, you'd've killed us on the spot! And let me tell you, Mr. Man, I am this close to doing it to you!"

"And I'll be helping!" I said.

"Me, too," Paige and Lindsay chorused.

Suddenly, in the thick of the high tension, Erica, Lindsay, Paige, and I all walked up to Jack and started dragging him off into the blustery snow and through the fair gates. Liz and Will followed as Jack thrashed to get loose, but we held on to him until we were outside of Lindsay's Dad's white van. Then, Lindsay opened the sliding door, and we pushed Jack inside with much difficulty. Then the rest of us climbed in; Erica in the driver's seat, Lindz in the passenger seat, Jack and Paige back in the two seats, and Will and Liz were sitting in the back where all this junk was.

- Erica's PoV -

"Listen to me!" Jack yelled once we were all settled and staring him down. "I understand I went against yer rules. But I've already apologized from what I remember."

"Then why are you still seeing her?" Paige asked.

"Yeah, and why did you propose to her, you retard!" Lindsay hollered.

"Yeah, Jack, explain that to me!" I said loudly. "Why are you being so stupid and retarded and dumb! You're Jack Sparrow! You couldn't settle with one woman for a week let alone the rest of your life!"

Jack was quiet, looking at me with a searching expression.

"Ye wanna know why?" he asked. "It's because of ye, Grace. And what ye said this mornin' to me."

I bent my eyebrows, trying to remember anything. My mouth was slightly open. I was the cause for him proposing to Miss Garrett?

"What?" Elizabeth asked. "This doesn't make sense."

"Everything would make a hell of a lot more sense had ye all given me a chance to talk instead of blowin' up on me," Jack said before looking back at me. "But then again, what ye said this mornin', Grace, got me te thinkin'."

"What did I say?" I asked quietly.

"Well, "Jack said, looking up in thought. "I believe it was somewhat along the lines of what ye just said. How I, a pirate, a no good filthy scallywag, could never settle on just one woman and that was what love meant."

Oh shit.

"I thought and thought about it all day," Jack continued. "I looked back, seeing how I was a bit selfish to have everything I wanted when I could never truly have it. Ye said that love was one person and a family and bein' happy. I didn't like the idea, but I knew ye were right, Gracey. I've got nothing except all of ye characters, and for me, that's enough. But after a bit of revelry, it isn't. So, I decided to take yer words for it."

My eyes were big, realizing that he was serious.

"Jack, I didn't mean it!" I said suddenly. "I was mad! Everyone says things they don't mean when they're mad! You should never take what an angry person says to heart!"

"But ye're right," he said.

"No! No no no!"

"Jack, don't be absurd!" Elizabeth said. "You don't even know this woman! You should know her before you ever even think of marriage. Truly know her. Her fears, her strengths, her desires…"

"Is this a stab at me?" Will asked her.

Ignoring them, I continued to stare at him. He was doing this because of something stupid I said. Okay, so it's not exactly stupid, but this is Jack! He doesn't listen to anybody! Why would he start now?

"Jack, you aren't thinking straight," I said desperately. "What about your life as a pirate? All the pillaging, the plundering, the rum, the yo ho?"

"On the contrary, lass, I'm thinkin' straighter than I have in years," he said. "And I'm still debatin' whether or not to tell her all about me. The ship and piracy, as you've said."

"You're gonna marry her and not tell her you were a pirate?" Stewie asked. "But that's the best thing about you!"

"When ye're a lady like Isabelle, I don't think ye really want to get along with a pirate for the rest of yer life. So I could tell her, show her the ship and everything, but I risk losin' her. But if I keep it to meself, I can just have you all make up a fitting lie for my past."

"No way!" Lindsay said. "I'm not gonna lie for you!"

"Me neither!" I said.

"None of us are, so you better just tell her the truth," Paige said. "And you've only got a few months to decide."

"Actually, a few days," Jack said not making eye contact with us.

"WHAT!" we all screamed.

"A few _days_?" I asked.

"I can explain that one, too," Jack said, holding up his hands. "When I decided on marryin' her and that and proposed, she said she wanted to do it as fast as possible. I didn't argue. The faster I do it, the less time I have to ponder any second thoughts."

"So let me get this straight," Lindsay said. "You're gonna marry a girl we told you was off limits in a few days, but you still haven't told her you're a pirate?"

Jack just glared at her in response.

"I'm surprised she hasn't figured it out by now," Stewie said. "Hasn't she ever seen the movie?"

"I have no clue," I said, putting my face in my hands. "This is bad… really bad."

"Have you ever even met her parents?" Paige asked. "Isn't that how it usually goes?"

"That's right Jack, you'll have to win them over before you say 'I do,'" Lindsay said. "How do you figure you'll manage that in a few days."

"She asked me if I'd like to have dinner at their house tomorrow night," Jack said. My face did one of those sinking things with the shoulders and jaw falling.

"Jack, you haven't had one evening with us since we came," Elizabeth said. "And the first night doesn't count because we weren't all together. All you've done is gone out with that Isabelle, leaving us to wait for any sign that you still know us."

"Oh I get it," Jack said, pointing at her. "Ye're all jealous then, eh?"

"No!" some shouted.

"Yes!" the other half did (I'm on that half).

"Well, yes and no," I said. "Jack, this can't happen. I know you really must like Miss Garrett, but this-"

"And don't call her that anymore," Jack said, interrupting me. "She asked me to tell you just to call her Isabelle when ye're not at the school place since we're acquainted and she wants to have ye all in the wedding."

"I'm not gonna be in the wedding!" I said. "There isn't going to be a wedding! You're here to hide from the angry mob that wants you and Paige for kidnapping the Governor! And yeah, so what if you didn't do it? It's only been three or fours days. I'm sure Norrington hasn't convinced all of Port Royal that a pirate who threatened the life of the governor's daughter is innocent yet."

"Me and Paige both are bloody innocent," Jack said, leaning back in his chair. "Besides, I like to see you even attempt to send us back."

Then, Lindsay clapped her hand over my mouth before I could talk back and leaned in, whispering something in my ear.

"He's gonna want us to help him, Erica," she said. "He's gonna want our support because he won't do it unless we approve."

"Good," I whispered back. "Then we're doing a fine job so far."

"Let's just smile, nod, and agree for right now," Lindsay sighed. "We'll work something out later, I promise. Just go with it."

"You promise," I repeated, having to hear it one more time for it to sink in. Then I sat up away from Lindsay, looking around at everyone with a sullen face, knowing I possibly making one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

"Fine," I said quietly and calmly to Jack. "I won't… I won't send you back. If it really means that much to you, the lot of us'll be up bright and early on the big day all spiffed up and ready to go."

Everyone (for the exception of Lindsay) looked at me like I was nuts. I just sighed deeply and continued.

"Just don't do anything you'll regret," I said after a long pause. At that, I turned around in my seat, folded my arms across my chest, and shut my eyes. What have I done? Most importantly, what's going to happen overall? I couldn't believe I just said what I did.

Suddenly, I jumped as my cell phone rang loudly. I pulled it out and looked at the number. I didn't recognize it, but I answered it anyways.

"Hello?"

"Erica? This is Miss Garrett! Is Jack with you? I just came out of the bathroom and I can't find him anywhere."

I held my hand over the phone and lowered it, glaring back at Jack.

"You gave her my cell phone number?" I asked dangerously. Jack just shrugged his shoulders and looked out the window, trying to make it look like I was speaking some other language.

Then I held the phone back up to my ear and said, "Yeah, Jack's with us. But we're on our way home. He's tired and told us all about meeting your folks tomorrow night, so he thought he should be well-rested for that to make a good impression."

"Aww, how sweet," Miss Garrett chuckled. "Well, alright. Be careful on your way home!"

"We will," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Goodnight to you all."

"Night," I said, hanging up and throwing my phone back down in my bag. Then I went to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. I even unlocked it and it didn't move, so I started slamming myself against the door.

"What are you doing?" Lindsay asked. "Don't break the freakin' door off!"

" I was gonna go get in my car, but the door's stuck!" I said. "It's like, frozen!"

"Well, we've been in here for a while," Stewie said. "And the snow drifts are pretty high, too. I don't think we're gonna make it home tonight."

"You mean I'm stuck here on the fairgrounds parking lot in a van with all of you?" I asked. "Lovely, just lovely! Now what'll we do?"

"Turn on the radio!" Lindsay said, doing just that.

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Poo dah! Another chapter for you fine folks!

Well, Jack, looks like we're off to camp Lutherlyn for a week! We'll be back around dinnertime on the 6th, so look for a new chapter within a week of our return. No promises! You may tar and feather me, lol.

Please Review!


	16. Irony?

(A/N – Oh wow! I just got back from the best week at Camp Lutherlyn EVER! It was so cool how I bonded with the other nine kids and five counselors by the end of the day, which was only about seven hours! God bless you all! I miss you so much! Anyways, now that I'm back, I'm going crazy, lol. So much to catch up on and this being one of them! Haha…)

Ever been to camp, Reviewers?

.: That was my sixth trip up there since 2003. I loved it::.

CLE – "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Greenday 

I'm so tired and pooped and exhausted from all that…eh. Disclaimer!

But I own ppl as well! I own my looverly friends, non and fictitious. And character appearing in real life is coincidence that is unless you come up here to Connellsville and meet us, lol. On with the chapter!

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN: "Irony?"

I rolled my eyes and looked at Lindsay as she started dancing in her seat to the end of the song. Then when it was over five seconds later, her shoulders fell in disappointment.

"Aww, it's over," she moped. "New station!"

"No, stop!" I said, grabbing her wrist inches from the dial. "It's a weather report! Listen!" I turned it up, and we listened intently.

"And now for the Channel 4 Action News Weather Update in Pittsburgh," the man over the radio said. "The blizzard that was expected to strike last night has postponed its arrival and the first flakes of this storm began to fall about one hour ago. Snowfall is expected to become heavy and visibility reduced to nothing, so get off the roads, folks. Accumulation is said to fall an inch an hour, so we'll be having two feet by this time tomorrow. The entire viewing area is under a blizzard warning until Wednesday night at 10pm, so, yep! You guessed it! Statewide, schools are closed for the entire week and maybe longer, depending on your location. Be sure to stay warm and safe in this harsh weather, and I'll have another update in thirty minutes along with tips to keep you safe in this long and blustery storm we'll just have to ride out. And now, back to the Christmas favorites."

Eyes wide, I leaned forward and turned the volume down on the radio. I looked around at everyone. This is so…

"YES!" Stewie screamed. "No school for a week! Yippee!"

"Jess, it's still bad!" I said. "We could freeze to death in here tonight!"

"Yeah, but we'd freeze instantly out there!" Lindsay said. "Besides, we can stay up all night! We did it when we were locked in the freezer at West! Who's got cards?"

"I do!" Jessica said, pulling them out of her pants.

"Whoa, whoa! One second!" Jack said. "What about the weddin' and tomorrow night? I have to do this!"

Of course he had to bring _that _up again…

"We'll get you there, Jack, don't worry," I said quietly with this awful twinge in my stomach. "I'll make sure of it, promise."

"Hey, are there any extra blankets in here?" Paige asked, digging in the back where Will and Elizabeth were sitting.

"Um, there should be three, but they're probably not the cleanest things in the world," Lindsay said. "There's a really big one three of us could share. Hey, Gravy, turn up the radio, huh?"

I turned up the volume, my head still racing about what to do about Jack and Miss Garrett and now freezing to death. One of my favorite Christmas songs 'Sleigh Ride' was playing, so that relaxed me a bit. But then again, no.

"Hey Grace, you gonna play?" Paige asked.

I looked back, and Lindz, Stewie, and Paige were all under the big blanket, Will and Liz were sharing one, and Jack had the other. The deck of cards was sitting on the big blanket on Lindsay's lap.

"Whatcha playing?" I asked.

"Rummy," Will said. "Would you like to join us?"

"Um… get me for the next game," I said. "I just want to relax a bit."

"Don't fall asleep," Lindsay said, dealing out the cards.

"I won't," I murmured. "Just don't let me, okay?"

"Gotcha."

As they began to play, I sunk down inside the drivers seat and shut my eyes. Let's see, life sucks at the moment… Jack and Miss Garrett are getting married in a few days, but we're going to somehow stop it supposedly. Meanwhile, outside this stupid van, snow is falling an inch an hour, and by morning, it'll be a miracle if we can even get out. There's gotta be a way out…

Ha! Genius hath stucketh me!

I pulled out my cellphone. I had enough bars for somewhat good reception, but that would be gone by morning. I hurried up and dialed 911. They'll save our butts!

"Who're you calling?" Elizabeth asked, drawing everyone's attention to me now.

"Someone who's gonna come save us," I said gleefully, holding the phone up to my ear and plugging the other one up with my finger.

"Put it on speaker phone so we can hear!" Stewie said.

So I did. They had the right to hear, anyways. After two rings, it picked up, and I jumped into an upright position in my seat. Everyone was watching, waiting, and listening.

"911, what is your emergency?" the patient voice of the woman on the other line said. I leapt forward, unable to contain my excitement.

"Oh! Hi! Well, there are seven people including myself snowed and frozen inside of a white van in the middle of the Fayette County Fairgrounds' parking lot," I explained. "The snow's too deep to do anything, and we can't get out."

"Alright, we'll send two EMS vehicles right away. Are any of the occupants of the van injured or experiencing symptoms of hypothermia?"

"Not yet," I said. "That's why I hurried to call. So we could avoid all of the complications."

"Well you did the right thing," the woman said. "Can I get your names, please?"

"Yeah," I said. "Erm… Jack Sparrow, Grace Sparrow, Paige Madrine, Raoul Turner, Mary Turner, Liz Swann, and Jane Swann."

"Any relations there?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it's complicated," I said. "I'm Grace, and Paige and I are Jack's daughters, and Raoul and Liz are married with their kids being Jane and Mary." It was silent on the other end of the line for a few minutes. I could tell this lady was still trying to figure that out, but oh well. I continued on. "Can you send help immediately?" I asked.

"Help is on its way," the woman said. "The two EMS vehicles have been dispatched from the Dunbar location and will be there within ten minutes or less."

"Cool," I said. "Thanks a bunch."

"No trouble, Miss Sparrow," she said.

Wow. That felt awkward.

"Kay," I said. "Do I have to stay on the line or something til EMS arrives?"

"Yes," the woman said. "Just to ensure your safety and to let us know when the EMS gets there."

"Alright," I said. Then I covered the speaker on the phone and looked back at the others who were smiling and bouncing in their seats. It feels so nice to be smart sometimes. "All systems are go!" I said to them.

"Yay!" Stewie said.

"Just be thankful you won't freeze tonight," I laughed.

"Huzzah!" Lindsay, Paige, and Stewie chorused. I smiled and returned to the phone. The others resumed their game of Rummy with excited chatter. In about seven minutes, I saw the EMS lights flashing as the crested the hill up by the traffic lights.

"I see them coming, "I said to Margaret (the woman told me her name). "They're coming right now."

"Okay, well, they'll run you through the rest of the procedures and such," she said to me.

"Thanks so much," I said.

"Your very welcome," she said. "Take extra care in this storm from here on out."

"Don't worry, we will," I said. "Thanks again. Bye."

I hung up the phone, threw it in my purse, and turned around to the others. Lindsay looked like she was kicking arse right now, but I had to interrupt. You know me, Miss Perfect Timing.

"Are they coming?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, they're right outside there," I said, pointing out the window next to Paige. "The woman named Marge I was talking to said that they'd try to tow both of our cars out tomorrow, but we shouldn't expect too much. It may be a few days."

"That's okay," Lindsay said.

"Did they say that they were taking us home?" Stewie asked.

"Jess, I gave them totally different names to avoid us getting killed by our parents and caught with these guys," I said. "They're taking us to the high school gym to stay the night, and tomorrow they'll take us home if it's necessary and safe enough."

"Okay, so we spend the night and then we can go stay at my grandma's house again," Lindsay said. "But she comes home tomorrow night. We can only stay there til dinner time tomorrow."

"We'll be gone," I said. "While Jack's with Miss Garrett having dinner at her parents' house, we'll all go see a movie."

"Sounds cool," Paige said.

- Senior High Gymnasium –

We got here a little over three hours ago and were sent straight to bed. We picked this clump of cots towards the back of the gym so we could stay together. The gym had fifty-some people in it, including a few friends of mine I talked to in passing from class to class, but that's all. Nope, Holly and Robbie were good to go, safe at home, warm in bed while I lay awake on this stupid hard cot at three in the morning.

I was still wide awake. Of course I'm thinking about Jack and Isabelle and what Lindsay meant when she said we'd do something about it. I had been pondering and pondering and pondering it since I got here, since she had said it, and I was no closer to figuring it out than I was three hours ago. So, being the impatient brute I am, I wake up Lindsay, and Stewie and Paige by accident, too.

I got up and tiptoed over to Lindsay's cot, but I tripped over Paige's, fell into Stewie, and Lindsay woke up from the noise. I covered Stewie's mouth so she wouldn't scream and I picked up a flashlight and motioned them to follow me into the girls' locker room. We went back in hid in one of the shower rooms.

"What's wrong?" Paige asked as we sat down.

"Well, I only meant to wake Lindsay up, but you two might wanna hear it, too," I said. "Lindz, what do you mean when you say we're gonna stop the wedding?"

She looked at me for a minute then smiled.

"We're gonna stop the wedding!" she laughed.

"Oh, come on! I'm not joking!" I said. "Jack and Isabelle are gonna be married in no time and we don't even have a plan!"

"You could send him back to the Caribbean…" Stewie said.

"No, I promised we wouldn't do that," I said. "And in Jack's book, if you break a promise it's as bad as breaking the code. And you know how much it means to him."

It got quiet as we sat there thinking and thinking and thinking…

"Oh, and I just wanted to tell you guys, we aren't going to that movie tomorrow," I said. "We're going to Miss Garrett's parents' house to spy on them."

"What?" the three of the said in unison.

"You saw how fast he found us tonight!" Lindsay said. "It's gonna be a lot easier to point us out with all the commotion if you ask me! That's just lookin' for trouble!"

"Yeah, and if we don't go, we don't know anything," I said. "Missing tomorrow night would be missing a goldmine of information we can use to our advantage."

"Ah, I like," Stewie said, nodding and smiling at me. "This might work."

"It will, trust me," I said. "I called mom earlier and told her I was staying with you and Stewie a few nights, too," I told Lindsay. "That's my cover for wherever I go, so I'm good."

"Alright," Lindsay said. "Now, back to Jack, Isabelle, and the wedding… any ideas yet?"

More silence…

"Okay, so the facts are we have to stop the wedding without sending Jack back with the ruby," I said. "And we have to make it so he won't hate us in the end."

"Oh yeah," Stewie said, slumping into the wall more. "Well now this is gonna be fun…"

We sat there for about five minutes in silence thinking. Nothing was coming to my mind except for sending Isabelle back with the ruby, but that's too mean. She'd be killed by drunks, and I'd be killed by Jack. I didn't voice this option to the others. If people had to die in the end, the plan obviously sucked.

"Jack said that Isabelle wanted us in the wedding, right?" Stewie asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Oh."

"What's the idea?" Lindsay asked.

"I was thinking we could bust out some silly string…"

"As great as that would be, Stewie, I don't think it'll work," I said. "Jack and Isabelle like us so much that they're putting us in the wedding. They are so gonna hate us forever if we do something to ruin this for them."

"But we have to!" Stewie said. "Grr, the irony!"

"Irony?" Paige half-laughed. "It's not really ironic, is it?"

"Depends on how you look at it," Lindsay said.

_THUD _

We jumped as we heard the locker room door open. We peaked out of our shower room and saw a flashlight on the walls. Crap.

"Well, girls, it's been a pleasure," I said. "But I say we get out of here and sleep on it since we aren't getting anywhere at the moment and we're about to be caught."

"Wait!" Lindsay said, grabbing my arm. "Don't go back to the gym. Let's go into the pool."

"It's probably locked," I said.

"Nah, it was opened yesterday! We had school!"

"But the guys' gym teacher always has the key!"

Lindsay rolled her eyes, stood up, and grabbed my wrist saying, "Come on! We'll just hide in the equipment room!"

We ran along the back wall and down the last aisle, and pushed open the door that led to the pool showers and a hallway. We ran into the first door in the hallway, and then we shut the door and held our breath until the lights were gone.

"This way," she said next, going back out into the hallway. Then we stood in the pool shower rinse-off room as I held the flashlight on the lock, and Stewie tried to pick it. To my amazement, she finally got it, and we walked into the hot and muggy poolroom. It was really creepy at night.

"Lindsay, if they catch us in here…"

"Aw, chill out," she said, sitting on one of the old benches. "Come hither and listen to my genius!" We sat down around her; myself and Stewie on the floor and Paige on the bench with Lindsay.

"Okay, genius, what's your idea before we get caught?" Paige whispered.

"Yeah, and make it fast, Lindz," I said, glancing over at the door.

Lindsay only sat up with a proud smile and looked at each and every one of us. I was confused.

"Alright, here you go," she said. "You said there's no sending Jack or Isabelle back, right?"

"Yeah," Stewie said, nodding. "So?"

"So…You never said a word about bringing in anybody here."

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GASP! Who is Lindsay thinking about? lol…

Okay, Jack! I'll tell them! Guess what peeps? I now work at Domino's Pizza! Please do not panic! I will still be writing as much as possible! I'll just be making some more extra cash is all. So, yeah! I told 'em, Jack. Happy?

Please Review!


	17. He's a guy!

(Wow, everyone! Okay, so hey! School is starting in exactly one week from today! Well, for me anyways. It's August 22nd, and I shall have this chapter posted by school's beginning. Don't worry. Now that I will be back in school, I'll be writing more regularly. I'm still embarrassed at how little I wrote this summer. It'll pick up! I promise! Tally ho, Jack! We need to go school shoppin' with Lindz!)

Are you already in school, Reviewers?

x) Sentinel Sparrow- Hmm, good question, LoL. Find out as you read! Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy!

x) Nora Jean - Dude, Likin Park is my FAVORITE group ever! I LOVE those guys! Yes! LoL. Oh, and Stewie says that purple is still better and paints your room an everything in it purple. She also sends raspberries, haha. Thanks for the reveiw and enjoy the chapter!

.: If you are, you have my sympathy :.

**CLE – "Sugar We're Goin' Down" by Fall Out Boy**

Oh yeah, gotta love those disclaimers! And also be warned… I am starting work on a threequel for my Ronie and Val stories! I finished the sequel on paper yesterday morning around 2:30, lol. What's this gotta do with the disclaimer. Everything.

And I own my people whom I'm sure you could pick out, haha…

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: "He's a guy!"

"Bring someone here?" I asked, after a silence filled the large poolroom. I was wondering what could possibly possess her to bring this up. "Who would you have come?"

"Well, I dunno who… It was an idea! I would like to see Thomas again, though. Why don't we bring him back?" Lindsay suggested.

"What good would he do, though?" Paige asked. "I want to see him again, too, but we need someone who'll bring Jack to his senses without him hating us in the end."

"That's sort of inevitable," Stewie said. "He'll kill us."

"Yeah, well, that's our little obstacle of the moment, huh, Stewickle?" I said, patting her head. "Look, we can figure this out tomorrow. Let's get back and get some sleep."

"You think we're gonna be able to sleep after all this?" Lindsay laughed. "Ha! Fat chance…"

"Well you better slim it down a bit and come on," I said.

"Can't we go outside instead and walk around a bit?" Lindsay asked. "I'm not tired at all, and it's snowing as if we were in a dream! Let's go build an igloo!"

I rolled my eyes as Stewie and Paige jumped up with Lindsay all excited to got walk around the school in the dead of night. "Lindsay! Do you know why we're here? Because we were out there with good chances of freezing! It's dangerous out there, so they put us in here so we could have warm blankets and cocoa!"

"Yeah, and just think how much more blankets and cocoa they'll give us when we come back in!" Stewie said.

I slumped my shoulders about to give up when Lindsay said, "Oh, come on. I only meant for ten minutes. We'll be back if it's too cold." I looked down at my watch and back up at them.

"Okay, ten minutes, and I'm timing you," I said, following them out of the poolroom.

First we slipped back into the locker and grabbed our coats and two blankets, and then we decided to go out. The first set of doors we came at the end of the hallway were locked, so we went into the cafeteria and crossed it to these other doors that were unlocked.

Lindsay was right. There may have been almost a foot and a half of snow outside, but it was untouched and so beautiful, even if it was just laying over the student parking lot. But it was funny because you couldn't tell it was a parking lot. I smiled and stepped outside, Paige, Lindz, and Stewie already dancing around where the sidewalk would usually be. Then Stewie grabbed me, and we started spinning around. It was one of those fun things everyone hopes they get to experience.

"Wee!" Stewie said, falling back into the snow. I went with her laughing, and then Lindsay and Paige's heads were over us. They pulled us to our feet, and I brushed myself off.

"That was fun," I said, starting to walk around the school with them.

"Of course it was," Lindsay said. "I thought of it."

"Oh well, of course," I said. "By the way, since we're still wide awake, who exactly do you each think we should bring back?"

"Definitely more than one person," Paige said.

Suddenly, Stewie made this sound like someone had just filled her up with genius gas and swelled up with excitement as she began hitting my arm with this huge smile. She does that.

"What?" I asked.

Now she was bouncing, waiting for everyone's attention.

"You guys, listen to Stewie before she takes off," I said. Lindsay and Paige stopped with me, and Stewie was still bouncing and shaking with her contained excitement starting to scare me.

"Stewie please talk be fore you blow up," Lindsay laughed.

"Okay, ready?" she said. We all nodded. "Okay," she said again. "What if… we could by some miracle… get those girls how slapped Jack in Tortuga in the movie-"

"Scarlett and Giselle?" I offered.

"Yes! Those two!" Stewie said, pointing at me. "Well, we get them to come here, and then they embarrass Jack in front of Isabelle, she gets ideas, and leaves him! Ta da! No wedding!"

"But Jack still hates us," Paige said. "Won't work."

"Can't we just bring them here and improvise as we go along?" Stewie whined. "Besides, improv is so fun!"

"Oh, Stewie, I dunno…" I said. "A bunch of wenches show up and slap Jack in the face? How will he still not hate us in the end?"

"Please!" she asked. "Let's just see what happens! I bet deep down he doesn't even love Isabelle… it'll bring him to his senses!"

"I can't do that after he said that I brought him to doing all this stuff!" I said. "Are you crazy? He'd murder me or worse! Never talk to me again and go back to the Caribbean taking the ruby with him!"

"Oh, that reminds me, can I borrow the ruby?" Stewie asked.

I stared at her, my mouth opening a bit. "What are you asking me for?" I asked. "I don't have it. I'd imagine Will would, seeing as how he brought Liz and Paige here the night of your birthday."

"Will?" Stewie asked. "Are you sure? Aw… We have to get it. It's probably in his blacksmith clothes, too back at your Grandma's, Lindsay."

"Shoot, that's right," Lindsay said. "But I hid them under the bed. They'll be okay. But now we just have to get my grandma out again. Then we can get Jack ready and that, and someone can snag the ruby-"

"I'll do it," Paige said. "I'll get it sometime tomorrow when there's a big hustle and bustle all around the house. But what will you do about your grandma, Jane?"

"Hmm… Stewie, if you could free your place up, I can just say I'm staying there with you and go grab some things from my grandma's including the pirate clothes and ruby. Or we could just pile into my room at my Dad's house, but if he woke up and found us, we'd die."

"I can't," Stewie said. "So tomorrow, what time does your dad get home from work? Three or nine?"

"Nine," Lindsay said. "We'll just swing by my grandma's in the morning, you guys can hide behind the shed, and then I'll grab my stuff, we'll go down to my dad's, and we'll be out before he gets home. And we can spend the night there if we have to. Last resort, though."

"Okay," I said. "Well, I'm freezing now. Can we go back inside?"

"Yeah, come on," Paige said. "I'm getting really cold, too."

- Twelve hours later -

Okay, so we got out of the high school around ten in the morning and we got a ride home in this school bus everyone was piled into to be taken home. We had then dropped us off at Mark's so we could grab some things to eat and drink for an early lunch and walked up the giant hill to Lindsay's Grandma's for her to grab the pirate stuff and ruby.

After that, we went down to her Dad's house (having a snowball fight all the way), and the place was freed up. We were watching a movie in the living room with cappuccinos and cocoa to keep us warm, and let's not forget the wonderful Cambell's Tomato Soup. Mmm… That stuff is good.

Well, the movie was almost over (Napoleon Dynamite), and Lindsay and Stewie were in the midst of a pillow fight on the loveseat. Paige and I looked behind us after a pillow flew across the room and slammed Will in the face. Liz then threw it back, and we had a huge war. Jack, Will, Paige and I ran upstairs and locked ourselves in Lindsay's room as the chaos ensued downstairs in the living room and kitchen.

"Well, Jack, I think we should start getting you ready," I said.

"But I'm already still in these bugger things," Jack said, looking at his thin red sweater and black dress pants. "I don't like 'em. But if this is what I gotta wear again…"

"No, we'll get you another sweater…" I said. Then I looked from Will to Jack a few times, then at Paige. She nodded. "Right. Okay, Will, you and Jack are swappin' sweaters."

"Maybe they shouldn't," Paige said before they ripped the sweaters off over their heads. "He's gonna like kind of silly with a red bandana and a green sweater. Besides, they look funny just like that. Both with black pants and Christmas sweaters. I say we give 'em elf hats and Rudolph ears and let them run around ramped," she laughed.

I giggled a bit, too. "Haha, that's good," I said. "But really… Jack, Will scratch the swapping thing. We'll just freshen up your kohl a bit, throw your pants in the dryer to get the wrinkles out, polish those shoes, and then you'll be on your way to her parent's house."

"Did you get the address?" Paige asked. "Of her parents' house?"

"Yeah," he said, digging in his pocket now. "Right here." He handed us this little crumpled up piece of paper, and I read the address.

"Greensburg?" I asked. "That's a thirty minute drive! And we don't have a car!"

"It's taken car of," Jack said. "She's told me she'd come and get me since she was coming out her way to get the wine for tonight. She's pickin' me up around six-thirty, though I best call and let her know I'm here and not at the other place."

"Good idea," I said. "Phone's downstairs on the endstand by the loveseat and couch, and Jack? We'll need you to wear this robe for about twenty minutes," I said, picking up Lindsay's bathrobe off of her bed.

"Why?" he asked.

"We need your pants so we can dry them and get the wrinkles out," I said, holding in my laughter as Paige giggled right next to me. Jack looked over at Will who shrugged his shoulders. Jack protested, of course.

"No," he said. "Maybe if the thing didn't have little demonic smiling rabbits on it with bright green, I wouldn't mind as much, but no. I'll just wear 'em wrinkled!"

"If you'd like, Paige and I will leave the room," I laughed.

"What about him?" Jack asked, pointing to Will.

"He's a guy!" Paige said.

"He's a bloody eunuch!" Jack shouted.

Will rolled his eyes. "Come on, girls," he said. "We'll leave Jack to his _business_." Paige and I laughed even harder as we turned and walked out the door with Will behind us.

Then, all of the sudden, Lindsay, Stewie, and Liz came flying up the stairs with their pillows screaming like banshees and pummeled the three of us to the ground. After that, I threw Jack's pants in the dryer, and it was every man/ woman for his/herself. The battle raged on for twenty minutes until Jack came out of Lindsay's bedroom.

"Excuse me," Jack said, walking down the stairs in Lindsay's Happy Bunny robe to the kitchen where Lindsay and I were throwing rice on Will. Lindsay kept throwing as Will ducked under the table, but I walked up to Jack. I was covered in flour and tea powder like Lindsay, but I smiled at Jack anyways. He gave me that creeped-out look and took a step back around the corner.

"Hi Jack!" I said. "You ready?"

"What're ye loonies doin'!" he yelled.

"Just playing a game," I said. "It's okay."

"Where's Lily and Liz and Mary?"

"Up in the bathroom trying to get the green, purple, and black spray paint off of them and the old milk out of their hair," I laughed. "We've let a bomb go off, Jack! But it's okay! We'll be ready by the time-"

_DING DONG!_

Jack and I looked in the direction of the living room where the front door was. Then I looked up at him, and he sneered at me as I smiled nervously.

"By the time Isabelle gets here?" he asked dangerously.

"Yeeeah…" I said, swallowing and biting my lip.

"Oh! Is Miss Garrett here already?" Lindsay asked, standing up with the rice box in her hand. "It's only four o'clock. Jack! Where's your pants? You look ridiculous!"

"Thank ye," Jack said sarcastically. "Can I have my pants, please!" he whispered urgently.

"Um, yeah," I said. "Sure. I'll go grab them out of the dryer in the basement. Be right back."

- Lindsay's PoV -

Erica ran down into the basement, and I looked around into the living room and saw Miss Garrett standing there on the other side of the screen door outside.

"Oh! It's her!" I said.

_DING DONG!_

"I need my pants, lassie!" Jack said. "Now!"

"Grace is getting them," I said. "Hang on a sec. I'll cover for you.""Thanks," he said. "Go, go!"

He pushed me into the living room. I passed the mirror above the television and caught sight of me out of the corner of my eye. I looked terrible! Gah! I decided just to play cool as I opened the screen door and smiled at Miss Garrett happily.

"Hi, Miss Garrett!" I said. "Can I help you?"

"Is… Jack here?" she asked hesitantly. I could tell she really wanted me to say 'no' because she was hoping she was at the wrong place. Well, she's not.

"Yeah," I said. "He's upstairs getting ready. We didn't expect you this early, though. He said something like six or six-thirty."

"I know," she said, stepping inside, "but I wanted to drop by early because I've booked the local fire hall for the reception, and I wanted to drop by with him really quick to see it. I was also wondering, since you girls don't have school for the next week, if would like to come down tomorrow and set up the decorations and stuff for us. It would be a great help, and I'll pay you each twenty-five dollars."

"Cool," I said, though I was still shocked at how fast this was all going down. "I'm sure the others won't mind, so sure, I'll let them know, and we'll come."

"Oh, good," Miss Garrett said with a smile. "You'll start tomorrow at eight, and work til whenever you get it done. There's not much labor involved, so it'll be light work, and we'll get pizza or something for you while you work."

"Okay," I said. "Sounds great. "We'll be there."

"Okay, so, here's the address," she said, handing me a piece of paper, "and I'll see you tomorrow! Oh! And around three tomorrow afternoon, I'm taking you girls down to the bridal shop to get your bridesmaid dresses fitted (it won't take longer than two hours tops), and then the wedding rehearsal should be tomorrow night, as well, provided my parents agree to that."

"Whoa, hold on," I said. "You and Jack would be getting married Tuesday then?"

"Yes."

"The day after tomorrow?"

"Correct. Is there any inconvenience there?"

"Oh! No no no no no…" I laughed. "It's just… a surprise at how quickly everything is happening. You've only just met! Doesn't it all seem a bit fast to you?"

"Yes," she said a bit quietly, "but I honestly think Jack and I are perfect together. He's so sweet, and… so what if I don't know everything? That's what the first few years are about."

"Yeah," I said uncomfortably. "I guess so… JACK!"

A series of crashes and moans came from the kitchen, and then Jack fell into view in the doorway. He was lying there motionless as he met Miss Garrett's shocked eyes, halfway there with pulling his pants on.

"Oh… Jack…"

"Hello, darling," Jack said with his curt smile. "One moment."

Jack wriggled back out of sight, and I could picture it now: Erica was probably standing there frozen during that whole thing and was now busting a gut. I laughed as Miss Garrett bit her lip. Five seconds later, Jack came walking out all nice and presentable with Erica behind him.

"Hi, Jack," Miss Garrett said as he approached.

"Evening," he said before kissing her. Erica and I both got wide-eyed and looked at each other. "What're ye doin' here so early?"

"Well, I was just telling Lindsay here that I've booked a place for our reception and that I wanted to drop by on our way out to my parent's house and show you."

"Oh, well, fine," Jack, said, happily. "Well, we'll see you later, lassies."

"Bye, Jack, Erica said heavily as the walked out the door and trudged through the snow to Isabelle's blue Taurus. I felt Erica's waves of worry starting to affect me as they drove off. Then, Will, Liz, Stewie, and Paige came up behind us, looking out the door.

"Jack's gone?" Elizabeth asked. "Already."

"Yeah," I said. "And we're supposed to go help set up decorations at the fire hall, get bridesmaid dresses fitted, and rehearse the wedding tomorrow. She said if Jack wins over her parents, the wedding'll be Tuesday."

"He can't win 'em over if we're there causing trouble," Erica said, walking back into the kitchen and upstairs. Everyone else looked at me.

"What now?" Will asked.

"We clean up and get ready for dinner," I said.

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OoOoOo… Now what?

Okay, so it's the last Friday before school starts! AHH! And I'm sleeping over at Lindsay's Dad's with her and Stewie and going shopping tomorrow at ze mall! Woot! I can't wait for school to start… it's gonna be an awesome year! Bye bye, summer! It was great!

Please Review!


	18. Onward, Patsy!

(Hmm… my first post since school has started, and boy is it a different year! Lindsay and Lori being up at the high school now, the new chorus teacher, the homework, dang… at least there's home life and friends to keep me going, right Jack?)

Homework sucks, Reviewers!

x) Norma Jean - Glad you liked bothe CLE and the chapter! Don't worry. Eight period (last class of the day), I have a PowerPoint class, which means I'm on a computer... a computer the SUB can't see... yep. Regular teacher's out since she just had a baby, lol. But don't worry! I'll be updating soon. Thanks for the review!

x) Sentinel Sparrow - It's cool about the Anti-Bush thing. If the suspense is killing you, you just may die before the end, lol. I'm coming up with some good cliffies! LoL. Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter!

.: Anyone wanna help as rebel against the 'No Bookbags' rule, too:.

**CLE – "Beverly Hills" by Weezer**

Well, I guess I HAVE to put a disclaimer because SOME big rich movie companies don't like to SHARE… so, disclaimer. There. Now get off my case. I'm having a bad school year without my bookbag, and it's not even been a week yet. Have a nice day!

I own my people, including Isabelle's parents whom you shall be meeting in this chapter if all goes well. Also, their dog if I can think of a name and type, LoL. Enjoy the chapter, peeps. I'm gonna be wrapping this up as fast as possible now, so I hope you and I both can keep up!

**P.S. - Might not be updating for a week or two... I'm gonna take some time to try to finish this up so I can get a jump start on my other stories and the upcoming LotR one... I still need lots of progress on it beofre it's done, so bear with me for a while, k? Don't worry, though. I've still got a good number of chapters left for this one (at least 7 or 8!). Thanks in advance for your patience! You guys are so good to me!**

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: "Onward, Patsy!"

- Lindsay's PoV (still) -

About an hour later, Will, Liz, Paige, Stewie, Erica, and I were walkin' out the front door of my dad's house dressed up in warm clothes because it was freezing out. The roads were somewhat clear now, and our cars were still not returned to us, so we walked to Markie's in the calm snowfall waiting for a bus to show up.

"It better be here soon," Erica said as we walked out of Mark's with three bags of food and 'rum.' "We've got thirty minutes til dinner starts. Are we even allowed all of this crap on the bus?"

"So long as we don't eat or drink it, I think," Stewie said, "but we're probably going to do it anyways," she laughed.

"Paige, you're psychic," I said. "Where's the bus at?"

She did her little thing before answering. "Coming past what looks like a big sandstone church. Up a little hill… past a store with the sign 'South Side Grocer…'"

"About two minutes away," Erica panted heavily. "Oh… god, this is so nerve-racking!"

"It's all right, Grace," Will said. "We'll get the information we need to know tonight by following you, Jane, and Mary. We'll be step ahead thanks to you."

"Yeah, and what if that's not good enough?" Erica asked. "Lindsay, you said they're shooting for the day after tomorrow – Tuesday. That means we're in a world of crap. We're supposed to stop this by bringing lots of wenches to slap Jack by Stewie's incentive, but we're helping at the same time!"

"So we put up a few decorations and get paid some money," I said. "No biggie. If we don't have time tonight, we'll go back tomorrow and get anyone we can in the Caribbean to help."

"Yeah, and where do you suggest we spend the night to do that?" Erica asked sarcastically.

"My dad's," I said. "Did I tell you that he and Trudy left for my uncle's cabin this holiday?"

"Really?" Stewie asked.

"Yeah! Found a note saying I was to go to my grandma's with Justin and Charlie and that they'd be back the day after Christmas, but I'm not going up til Christmas Eve. I've got the whole place to myself until Friday when Justin comes up for the weekend. So we can stay there til this all blows over."

"I wish it would all blow over and be that simple," Liz said, "This is tesing us all, as Grace said. Very annoying as well."

"_Very_," Erica emphasized.

"Bus!" Stewie shouted as it pulled up to the storefront. The doors opened, and we stepped inside. It was freezing cold inside, too, but at least the first few seats were freed up. They have nice heaters by the feet. Haha…

Erica and I sat behind the driver with Paige and Stewie next to us and Will and Liz behind us. There weren't a lot of people on the bus at all; maybe four max. Erica and I each had a bag of food on our laps, and Stewie was digging through the other with Paige. We were all munching happily on whatever by the time the bus driver had asked us where we were going for the third time.

"Here," Paige said with her mouth full, stretching to hand him this small cruddy piece of paper. "It's Isabelle's address," she clarified to us as the bus driver took it from her and scanned it. "Jack said this is where they were headed after they stopped for wine."

"Okay then," Erica said. "Let's go."

"Onward, Patsy!" Stewie yelled as she jumped up enthusiastically and pointed forward. "Chop chop!" We all started laughing and told Will and Liz (and Paige some) about Monty Python. About ten minutes later, we were leaving town and heading onto the highway as we finished up telling them about it.

"We're gonna have to watch it before you guys go," I said. "We'll like, have to go down to Vicky's and have Josh have a pow-wow in his movie room so we can all watch it."

"With these guys?" Erica asked.

"Yeah! He'll probably think it's awesome anyways!" I said.

"Well, I'd like to see it happen, too, but we still have all of this crap to worry about," Erica said, popping a few Combos into her mouth. I sighed and leaned back in the seat. She did have a point…

"Oh well. It's nice to dream," I laughed. "Hey Will, pass up the gummi sour worms, would ya?"

"No food on the bus!" the grumpy bus driver said.

"Oh yeah? You wanna piece of this? Huh!" Stewie yelled.

"Sit down while the bus is in motion!"

"I can't! I had sugar!" she retorted. "Weeeee! Ninety-nine bottles of rum on the wall, Ninety-nine bottles of rum!"

"Shut up!" he yelled.

"Touchy…you wouldn't happen to be related to Noah the Cop, would you?" Stewie laughed in sarcasm.

I laughed, too, and leaned forward to get a good look at the bus driver as I remembered the car ride from a year and a half ago. Suddenly, the driver looked away and stayed quiet, and I opened my mouth with a huge grin.

"Oh my god! You are that hot annoying cop, aren't you?"

Then he turned around to look at me.

"You!" he said. "You and you and that one crazy drunk are the reasons I lost my job! Actually, I can't remember if I was fired before I chose to quit or not because of you crazy people!"

"We love you, too, _Noah_," Stewie said.

"Shut up…"

"And since this is such a great reunion, I'll sing a song for Jack since he cannot be here with us," Stewie said sadly before taking a deep breath.

"No! No singing!"

"OH! Ninety-nine bottles of rum on the wall, Ninety-nine bottles of rum! You take one down, pass it around…"

"Stop!"

"Ninety-eight bottles of rum on the wall!" Erica, Paige, and I yelled with Stewie as Will and Liz giggled behind us. Noah started flipping out similar to the way he did in the cop car that night, and we were laughing uncontrollably. This is so great!

- 20 minutes later -

"OUT! GET – OUT!" Noah screamed, slamming open the bus doors and tossing us out of the bus with our food like we were some herd of freakin' animals. He got back in his seat shaking as he closed the doors and started at us, fearing our might, haha. He had two black eyes this time, which had to mean we're improving.

"Wait!" Stewie yelled as he sped away from us at the corner. "I still have sixteen bottles of rum left!"

We were still laughing our butts off as we leaned against the stop sign, kicked the snow around, and picked up our grocery bags of food and garbage. The street lights had just came on with the snow still falling all winter wonderland-like, and we started up the sidewalk.

"Which one, which one…" Paige said in a singsong voice as we passed all of these ritzy homes, each one with a distinct smell. I liked the red and brown one; it smelled like steak and marshmallows at the same time. Weird combination, but still yummy (just like me! Haha…)

"Did Jack describe it at all when he showed you the paper?" Elizabeth asked. "Maybe that would help."

"I never heard him say anything," Will said. "Grace? Paige?"

"Nothing," Erica said.

"All we have is the address which should be easy to find considering the conditions of the neighborhood," Paige said.

"These people must be loaded," I laughed. "I wish I was rich."

"It's a beautiful place, especially with all of this snow." Paige sighed. "I need to tell Jack that we need to visit places with snow more often back on the Pearl."

"Later," Erica said. "Right now, we've got a stake-out to busy ourselves with. What's the number of the house again?"

"Three twenty-six Berryvine Hill," Paige said from memory. "Well, there's three twenty-two there across the street…"

"Two more up and cross the street… it's the light blue and white one," Erica said, pointing at it. "And Isabelle's car isn't there yet. Come on."

We sprinted across the road slipping around on the snow and ice and colliding with each other, but we made it to the front of the house in tact. We gawked at the huge house. It smelled like blueberry pie and French fries.

"How do we get in?" Erica asked.

"Go in?" Paige asked. "You want to go in?"

"Well, we certainly aren't going to hear the dinner time conversation from out here," she said. "We need a way to sneak in… like a broken window in the basement or something."

"I doubt you'll find a broken window," I said. "But it's worth a shot."

Just before we could start stooping over to creep through the yard, the front door opened, and this nice-looking old man you'd see in a storybook greeted us with a smile.

"Oh, hello!" he laughed. "Fiona! Come look at this! We have carolers!" This nice woman with short fading reddish hair came to the elderly man's side wearing an apron and potholders. She smiled when she saw us.

"How nice," she said. "We usually don't get carolers around here so early! This is pleasant!"

I froze with the others in a soldier-like stance. Carolers?

- Erica's PoV -

Okay. So I'm looking at Isabelle's parents, the people Jack have to win over to get Isabelle's hand in marriage. And they look like patient people, too. In our case, that's a minus. I wish this were a situation where people should definitely not be judged me first appearances. I wish they'd rip our heads of if we took one step towards them. But no. Instead, they stand there happily waiting for a Christmas carol.

Lindsay, Stewie, and I had to be thinking along the same lines. We all started singing a Christmas carol, but the bad part was that we each sang a different one. At this, I cleared my throat and looked at them.

"We'll follow you," Stewie said to me with a laugh. Psh. A laugh. How can she be laughing?

I was quiet a moment before I started singing really loudly all of the sudden. "We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

The others followed along immediately, but Will chose to lip-sync and Liz just to hum. Laryngitis is such a good excuse when you think you'll have nothing else to do with these people for the night, but it can get you into a world of shit when they insist that you come in for a few minutes to warm up before your next stop.

"No really, it's fine," I said hastily. "We still have many stops, and we can't be out too late!"

"Oh, it's just a cookie and a glass of egg nog!" Mrs. Garrett said. "Paul, fix them up a tray and bring it into the living room. Right this way, dears! Lovely voices, as well. You deserve a treat."

We walked rigidly into the living room, and Lindsay nudged me. "Now what?" she murmured out of the side of her mouth.

"I dunno," I said back. "But we better get out of here and fast. Jack and Isabelle will be here in less than forty-five minutes!"

As we shuffled into the cozy little living room that had no trace of Christmas blues whatsoever, Isabelle's mother offered us seats in the big comfy red furniture. Mr. Garrett brought in the tray after we sat there about five minutes staring at one another rigidly. Stewie was in the big comfy armchair, myself, Liz, Lindsay, and Paige on the sofa, and Will just stood behind the armchair. Mr. and Mrs. Garrett sat on the love seat.

"Well, go on and eat up," Mr. Garrett encouraged. "You still have lots of stops, right?"

A thought stuck me.

"We sure do!" I said enthusiastically as I leaned forward and quickly picked up a cookie and glass of egg nog stuffing my face. "Mmm… delicious."

The others were staring at me, but Stewie caught on. "Come on, guys, eat! We've got lots and lots of stops left! Lots!" She then took to what I was doing, and eventually, we all were shoving cookies and egg nog down our throats. In fact, we may have broken a record. Well, maybe two minutes isn't a record, but it is for us!

"Ah! Great nog!" Stewie said, setting her mug back down on the coffee table. She brushed a few crumbs off of herself, and we all stood up. "That was so good! Thanks!" We made a B-line for the door as these people stared at us, but they still insisted that we stay.

"Really!" Liz said finally with a sharp intonation. "We must be going. Thank you kindly for the hospitality, but we have to leave before all of those poor people down at the senior center go to sleep."

"Yeah, yeah!" Stewie said. "The senior center! That was a good one, Liz…" Elizabeth elbowed her and smiled at Mr. and Mrs. Garrett who still looked puzzled.

"Well, maybe you should then," Mrs. Garrett said disappointedly. "I guess we have to get the table set for dinner tonight anyways, Paul. My daughter is bringing her fiancé over tonight for us to meet," she explained. "She's very excited about this all, and from what she's told us, he's a terrific man of good character."

"If only you knew," I said sickeningly.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh! I said… good for you," I laughed. "That's exciting. Well, we'll leave you to your business and we'll head on out. Bye!"

"Bye!"

"Oh, and about that guy your daughter's bringing home," Stewie said to my horror, "he's awesome. But he drinks too much rum sometimes."

"You know him?" Mr. Garrett asked. "Well, that's amusing!"

"Yeah," Lindsay said as we all stared Stewie down til she felt two inches tall.

"I didn't mean to!" she whined. "I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what?" Mrs. Garrett asked.

"Nothing! We're leaving!" I yelled exasperatedly. I grabbed Stewie by the shoulders and steered her towards the front door, but I saw headlights just pull into the driveway. Shoot!

"Um, can we use the back door?" Will asked quickly (yay! He spotted it, too!). "It's tradition for carolers that are invited into a house leave through the back way since they carry Christmas spirit with them… and if we go out the front again… we'll just be taking it away again. If we go through the back, Christmas joy will be with you all season."

Now we all stared at him. Whoa.

"Surely," Mrs. Garrett said. "Right this way."

They waved goodbye to us as we left through the back way, and once we were on the alleyway behind their yard, they closed the door, we ducked out of sight, and then we ran up to the house again and hid under the back porch as we listened to Jack and Isabelle greet Mr. and Mrs. Garrett. They moved into the dining room, and we could hear what they were saying since we were dead silent and scared to be caught by Jack again.

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Okay! There you have it! What will we hear?

Your guess is as good as mine and Jack's…

Please Review!


	19. Hot glue gun!

(Dude, I've been busy out my butt… but I say this every time I post, so… Anyhoo, still got lots to do aside from this story. My LotR still requires major work before I post it, another LotR I'd like to work on, the threequel to 'Yo ho, yo ho!' and 'I Love This Song!' is underway on paper, and I've got two HP and a Jurassic Park I'd eventually like to put up (Ha! Bet you didn't know I'm a huge dino-lover… I played with more dinosaurs in my youth than Barbies… so yes. I love dinosaurs. They fascinate me.). Well, seeing as there's still a ton to do, let's break out the ideas, Jack! Come on!)

Any of you Reviewers JP fans?

x) Sentinel Sparrow - Ya ho! LoL. Yeah, you may see the wenches in the future, but maybe a few other people... _hint hint wink wink _Anyhoo, thanks for the review and enjoy this oh-so-awesome chapter! It loves you! And I promise you'll live. You may die when you read the ending, however. LoL.

x) Norma Jean - Tell me you don't love Noah! LoL. Everbody Loves Noah! Haha. I' m glad you like it, me bucko! Tis more to come, however. Ze best cliffhanger will leave you so frustrated adn ready to kill me in a few chapters, LoL. Heads up! Thanks! Enjoy!

.: I love those movies! They kick-butt! Along with Back to the Future :.

**CLE – "Twisted Logic" by Coldplay**

Disclaimer…

Claimer…

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CHAPTER NINETEEN: "Hot glue gun!"

"Wow! The turkey looks great, Mom!" I heard Isabelle say from under that cramped little back porch. "Oh, and it smells so good. Look at the table, too, Jack. And we got wine, Dad."

"Good year, too," we heard Jack say.

I slapped my forehead. "Only you Jack…" I muttered.

"Shh!" Lindsay said as she pointed up to the house. We continued listening intently.

"How was you day, Mom?" Isabelle asked Mrs. Garrett. "Quiet?"

"Actually, we had a few carolers drop by just minutes ago," Mr. Garrett said with a chuckle. "A shame that you missed them… they were a nice bunch of kids."

"Oh really?" I heard Jack ask in this pleasant and calm tone (Don't let it fool you. I could picture the look on his face. It's the calm before the storm…).

"Oh yes. Had them in for some cookies and eggnog before they rushed down to the senior citizens' center to sing for them before they fell asleep," Mrs. Garrett added. "Such a thoughtful group, too."

"Well that's sounds nice," Isabelle said.

"Oh! Jack, one of the girls said that she knew you," Mrs. Garrett said with a laugh. We were still frozen with fear, especially after Jack laughed with her (It was a double meaning laugh. He is going to kill us!).

"Really?" he said. "Did ye happen to catch her name?"

"Um… oh, no I didn't. Paul, did you happen to hear any of their names?"

"No. No, I don't remember hearing them say them."

We would've sighed in relief, but Jack still knew it was us. So, you figure we're doomed. We could've run away and had the advantage since this is our world, but that's not exactly what I'm here for.

"Well that's just too bad," Jack said sarcastically. "Say, ye mind if I step outside a moment?"

"No, go right ahead," Mrs. Garrett, said. "But hurry back in! We don't want this turkey to get cold."

"Want me to come?" Isabelle asked Jack.

"No, darlin', I'll be just fine," Jack said. "Be right back."

"Go, go, go!" Will whispered urgently as pushed us and we turned to scramble and slide down the bank underneath the porch. But as luck would have it, Lindsay and Paige slipped in the front and sent us all falling on top of them in the cold snow. We sat up, still trying to make a getaway around the side of the house, but we froze when we saw Jack standing there with the most deadly glare in his eyes.

It was a moment of that silence. The silence where no words could sum up the entire conversation and make you wish that he's just yell at us because he's making us feel so guilty. This silence lasted a good forty-five seconds.

"Jack-"

"Leave," he said dangerously in a low tone, cutting Paige off. His eyes were piercing us to the point where I couldn't move, but I knew we should for our own good. So we got to our feet finally, still feeling like scum of the Earth thanks to Jack's remarkable skills at making you feel that way with just one word and the look in his eyes, and we walked to the corner in silence to wait for the bus again.

It was the same bus that pulled up, and Noah was still in there. He started flipping out when he saw us. "No way!" he yelled, shutting the bus doors. "You can wait for the next bus!"

Liz shoved her foot in between the doors before he could shut them all the way and glared at him until he opened the doors fully for us.

"Are you threatening me?" he asked in a little voice.

"No, just take us back to South Connellsville," I said quietly as we boarded the bus. "We come in peace."

He let us on, staring at us in confusion as to why we wouldn't even make an attempt at torturing his pathetic soul. He didn't even start driving right away when we sat down in the first few seats again; he turned around and looked at us.

"What's got your pants all up in a bunch?" he asked. "Aren't you gonna sing or eat or make fun of me at all?"

"No," Lindsay said, staring at the aisle floor. "We don't feel like it."

Confused as ever, Noah turned around catching a good dose of our bumness and started up the street. I looked up at the light blue and white house and saw them starting to eat in the window as we flew by, Jack laughing and rousing his hosts.

Maybe Jack was right. This is his choice; I can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to. Maybe he really has changed. But going off and marrying Isabelle after less than a week of knowing her? Marrying her the day after tomorrow? I can't have this happen. Lindsay and the others are right. We have to snap him out of this. Bring him back to his senses, even though his right mind isn't entirely right all the time. But if he won't listen to us, who's he gonna listen to? Maybe Stewie's got something going with the wenches slapping him. It's worth a shot, I suppose. But can we really hide them all day tomorrow?

"Hey, Lindsay, " I said. She turned her head and looked at me indifferently. "You have the ruby?"

"No, Stewie does," she said. "Why?"

"Hey Stewart!" She looked at me. "You have the ruby?"

"Yes."

"Good, cuz we're using it tomorrow night."

- Lindsay's Dad's – 12:30 am -

All the lights were out except the television flickering on the living room walls where the six of us had been since coming back home about six hours ago. We made turkey and cheese sandwiches for our dinner and ate in silence as we watched South Park. The people from the police department came and returned Lindsay's Dad's van to us and my Sunfire about an hour later.

Right now, Paige and Lindsay were asleep on the loveseat, and Stewie, Will, Liz, and I were piled on the couch. Will was my pillow as I lay there watching the Andy Milonakis Show begin, though my mind was miles from here thinking about Jack and Isabelle and what we were gonna do to stop the madness. Stewie was half-asleep on top of me trying to find a comfy spot, but no good. Will was in this trance similar to mine while Liz was out.

I repositioned my head on Will, and he looked down at me. "Restless comes sleep tonight to us both, I'm afraid," he said quietly to me. "I can't seem to catch a passing thought to occupy my mind."

"Me neither," I said sleepily with my eyes hurting like crazy.

Suddenly, we heard footsteps outside. Stewie, Will, and I all looked over to the door, and it opened. Jack came inside brushing off his shoulders and shaking the snow out of his hair. I just looked at him until he noticed us. It was another awkward silence.

"I don't want to hear a word," he said.

"Jack, grow up!" I yelled. "We're only concerned! That's the only reason we were there!" I lied.

"Be concerned from a distance then," he replied shortly, walking in front of the television and into the kitchen. I looked in that direction angrily before laying my head back down on Will pouting a bit. I can't stand it when people are mad with me.

"Calm down," Will said. "He's just stung a little is all."

"Yeah, but he's being a jerk," Stewie added.

After a minute, Jack came back inside the living room, and we looked at him. "I've got reasons to mad with ye, but I'm not holdin' it against anyone if ye promise to leave us some privacy from now on, savvy?"

I nodded with Stewie.

"Good," he said. "Now, I need ye to do something for me."

"What?" Stewie asked.

"I need ye to round up some lads for the weddin'. There's going to be five of ye as the bridesmaids: Isabelle's best friend Marietta being the Maid of Honor, and ye four as the other maids. Will's gonna be me best man, so ye four each need to bring someone."

"Anyone we want?" Jess asked quickly. "Like Thomas?"

Jack hesitated a moment before answering her. "I'd prefer ye not unless ye absolutely have to," he said. "The ruby shrinks with each usin', remember."

"Oh yeah, that's right," I said, just thinking of that with the whole 'bring-the-wenches-here' plot we were gonna try to pull.

"Aye," Jack said, nodding. "Well, I'm headin' upstairs for the night. I suggest ye get some sleep yerself since ye'll be at the fire hall thing most of the day tomorrow. Night."

"Crap, we gotta go do that, too," I said, laying my head back against Will as we heard Jack going upstairs in the background since we're obviously not cool enough for him to be around. "Oh, and Stewie, you're a genius by the way."

"Thanks," she laughed. "But why?"

"We can use going to get Thomas as an excuse for why we're going to the Caribbean tomorrow night," I said. "We can actually get him, too, if we can find him. We'll only have a little bit of time to do all this, so it's gonna be crazy."

"Crazy is our specialty," Stewie said as she closed her eyes and rested her head on my hip contently with a smile. "We'll be fine."

I looked up at Will. "You think so?"

"Most definitely."

"Heh… you know, I just thought of something," I said, talking to neither of them in particular. "Could you just picture the look on Thomas's face when we tell him why we're there? Or Ana or Gibbs if we ran into them, too, for that matter…"

While I went off laughing to myself, I felt Stewie's head shoot up off of my hip, and she stared at my with these huge eyes and a tiny smile.

"What?" I laughed as Will and I looked at her. She just pointed at me.

"You," she said softly, shaking her finger, "are the genius." Then she laughed a bit.

"Huh?"

- Lindsay's PoV – 7:45 am -

"So you're trying to tell me that you wanna bring back Thomas, Gibbs, _and _Ana?" I asked as we drove to the fire hall in Erica's car. I took another bite of my on-the-go bagel I made and shook my head. "Jack's not gonna go for that. Especially the Ana part."

"Exactly," Erica said, leaning forward a bit. "That's the whole idea! She'll knock better sense into him than those Scarlett and Giselle girls."

"Plus, she slapped him the hardest in the movie," Stewie laughed.

True.

"Though it is a low-down dirty trick just as bad as something Jack would pull, it seems to be the only thing we can do," Elizabeth said. "And it sounds like it will work."

"It will," Paige said reassuringly. "Ana's gonna blow a head gasket."

"And do you know why?" Erica asked, looking up at me.

"Why?" I asked, mocking her.

"Because she's gonna be in a jealous rage!"

"Oh yeah," I said. "I just hope we can find them. There's no telling where that stupid ruby's gonna land us next. It's usually in trouble."

It was a silence where I could tell they were all thinking about that as we pulled into the snowy and slushy parking lot of the fire hall. Erica shut the car off, and the six of us emerged clutching our coats or hoodies closer to us since it was really blustery out. I almost killed myself slipping on the icy stairs, but it was warm and heated inside.

We threw all of our things off (no, we weren't nudists, you gutter-minded freaks! Gosh!) in the stairway, and then we walked into the big spacious room gawking at all the decorations put up so far. There weren't many, but Isabelle was inside with about three other people rearranging the tables. Then she spotted us.

"Oh, hi, girls! Hi, Will," she said, making her way towards us.

"Hi," we all said simultaneously. "You're already decorating this early?" I asked.

"Yeah," Isabelle said. "I've been here with my older brother Clarke and our cousins Grant and Andrew since five this morning rearranging the hall, making a thousand phone calls for caterers, bartenders, florists, the dressmaker… oh, there's a thousand things to do today. And don't forget that I'm taking you for your gown fittings this afternoon. You'll love them."

"Cool," I said. "What color are they?"

"I'm going with the red and white theme obviously," Isabelle said a bit quietly. "They'll be red and glittery, and you'll be wearing poinsettias in your hair. Those are gonna be my flowers, too. It will have a touch of holiday spirit to it, you might say."

"Awesome," Erica said. "So, where do we start?"

"Well, Will, if you could help the guys over there, that'd be a great help," Isabelle said, pointing to the three guys now getting some ladders set up. "And I could use two of you to string the poinsettias when they get here in an hour."

"Ooo! Grace and I've got this one," Paige said. "Liz, you wanna help?"

"I guess," she said, walking over behind us.

"I guess that leaves you two to set up the food table when the caterers arrive around noon," Isabelle said to Stewie and me. "Til then, you can start setting up the wicker arch in the doorway and string the white lights through it, okay?"

"Gotcha," Erica said. "S'ko peeps. Move out!"

- 1 pm -

The lights in the arch looked great, and when the florists got there around ten-ish, we started fastening the poinsettias to it, and then we scattered thin layers of cotton around it and sprinkled glitter in it to look like snow. It looked so – cool. This big bouquet was hung from the center of the ceiling with lights strung throughout it, too, and Erica, Liz, and Paige, had done these stands of poinsettia garland, lights, and ribbon, leading from it. It looked really awesome.

Isabelle had gotten one of those chocolate fountains from the caterers, and Stewie and I were having trouble controlling ourselves, haha. It was very addictive. Isabelle was in and out during the morning, the guys also hung mistletoe in various places just for the fun of it, and the tables were nearing their end in decoration. We were finishing our lunches now, and making awesome wedding favors at the one table – champagne glasses filled with champagne-looking candle wax. Pretty, eh?

"Hot glue gun!" I said, grabbing it out from in front of Erica.

"Sheeze! Watch it!" she said.

"Well, I gotta glue the little fake flower on the glass stem!" I said, laughing.

"OW! My leg!" Erica screamed, jumping up.

"I'm sorry!" I said, not helping but laughing at the big glue spot on her leg.

"Ooo, Lindsay Arvin, I'm gonna-!"

"Sit down," Paige said, sliding the chair under her. Erica scowled at me, but I still laughed. She continued pouring the hot liquid wax in the champagne glasses.

"Just about how many of these do we need to make?" Stewie asked.

"About a hundred and seventy-five," Paige said. "I think that's what Isabelle said, anyways."

"A hundred and _eighty_-five," we heard Isabelle's voice say as she approached from behind.

"Hey! You're back," Erica said.

"Yeah. How far along are you guys?"

"Fourteen," I laughed.

"Not much progress, but we've only been at it a half hour," Liz said.

"Well, it's fine," Isabelle, said. "Just try to get them done in time for the dressmaker's appointment at three. I'm gonna run home and get the van so we have more room when we go."

"Okay," Erica said.

After I heard Isabelle leave, Erica got up and went back to the bathroom with the excuse of getting the glue off of her pant leg. She was still mad about the whole thing and I knew it, whether she likes to admit it or not. Stewie and Paige looked over at me, and so did Liz eventually. I sighed, looking back at the bathroom.

"Are we really gonna go through with this?" Paige asked quietly. "Grace doesn't seem like she's handling this all that well."

"She can handle anything with us around," I said. "Don't worry. It'll all work out. We just grab Ana, Thomas, and other people tonight, and…"

I trailed off, not having a real plan after that. Improv usually works for us, but this is a wedding. A very false wedding.

Bless us, Gods of Improvisation…

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Oh, Jack… you see what you put me through!

Sorry for the long wait, but we're working in bulk at the moment. Well, trying to anyways. I've been really sick, too, so I haven't gottan that much done as I would've hoped. Please be patient. I will update soon as possible.

Please Review!


	20. What are you doing here?

(A/N – Sigh… things are getting very interesting for Jack and I in the story and in real life. In the story, I can't tell you what's gonna happen. But here in reality, people get mail. Mail that sends them to ENGLAND and IRELAND for no apparent reason! I got the letter about a week ago, and I have been spazzing since! It's some Student Ambassador program that I didn't even sign up for, and I'm going in June or July for three weeks in June or July 2006! I Just better not have to go and miss the opening day of PotC 2…)

I can't wait to go, Reviewers!

x) Norma Jean - I'm so glad someone finally agrees with me on the music thing! LoL... And who ever said hostility was a bad thing? ;) Thanks for the review! Enjoy this long-awaited chapter!

x) Sentinel Sparrow - LoL... Let's see... I was sick, got better, and now I'm so sick from this hike I took in six inches of snow with my school adventure crew that I'm taking two medications and missed two days of school, LoL. But I'm getting better! Thanks! Enjoy!

x) Kenny - OMG! There you are! LoL... Miss you and Kitty lots, and I imagine that you miss me, too with me not being on in so long... sorry bout that, haha. Thanks for reviewing anyways, and enjoy what you can read!

x) wayunlucky13 - Aww! I'm so glad that you're into my stuff! Don't worry, everything's going to be very interesting these last few chapters. About five left! Give or take a few... Anyways, glad you're diggin' my scene, lol, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks!

.: Every cent I get my hands on is going in this huge box marked 'England,':.

**CLE – "Do You Want To" by Franz Ferdinand**

Ze oh-so depressing disclaimer…:-((

Ze oh-so invigorating claimer… :-))

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CHAPTER TWENTY: "What are you doing here?"

- Erica's PoV – 9:30 pm -

Sigh…

It was a hectic day to say the least. Setting up the entire fire hall, the gown fittings (which the dresses are gorgeous with the red and glitter and poofy skirt and yeah…), and the voice of reason in the back of my head screaming at me asking why the heck I'm doing all of this if it's wrong. You know, I'm not negligent towards my voice of reason except for when my friends and me are goofing off. But somehow, it's starting to control me and it's scary…

Jack popped in and out all day just like Isabelle, and so to slow us all down for a moment, the eleven of us (including Isabelle's brother and two cousins) went out for a bite to eat around eight at this local bar/ restraints type place. It was okay except for the country music blasting in my ear. After that, we headed to Isabelle's church to practice the ceremony a few times which wasn't helping my nerves. It only finalized them.

"Erica?"

Oh my god… this isn't happening…

"Erica!"

"Huh? What?" I asked after Lindsay hit me in the arm.

"Go!"

"Oh…"

I shook my head a bit and then started to walk down the aisle briskly behind Isabelle's friend Marietta who had this orangey-blonde springy head of short curls. Lindsay, Paige, and Stewie strode down behind me. Jack was walking next to Isabelle with Will behind him, and for the time being, the four of us girls had to imagine a guy next to us until tomorrow. Elizabeth and those three guys Clarke, Grant, and Andrew stood off to the side watching as we did the procession. Ugh, my stomach. And this isn't even real yet! But it will be! Ah!

"Oof!"

"Oh! Sorry, Marietta!" I said after bumping into her. "I guess I'm just out of it from all of the hard work today."

"It's fine," she laughed. "I'm dead tired, too."

"Me three," Stewie yawned from the rear.

After we went through all the vowels and where to stand for the fourth time, we were finally told to go home to rest up for tomorrow. Yeah, I wish. We get to run around the Caribbean tonight looking for people…

"You girls will have your escorts here by tomorrow?" Isabelle's pastor asked.

"Yeah," Lindsay said. "I'm bringing a guy named Thomas, Paige, you're bringing Robbie, right?" Paige nodded as she continued on. "Stewie, you've got Kourey; we can call and get him tonight."

"I am? We can?" Stewie asked in confusion.

"Yeah. And we need someone for Erica…"

"I can call a few people before we…" Oh crap, I almost said it… "Erm... before we hit the hay tonight," I said with a smile. "Josh, Nick, someone has to be free tomorrow. And plus, I think Josh is off work."

"Which Josh? Vicky's Josh or Josh Greene?" Lindsay asked.

"Greene," I said. "I'll call him when we get back to your house."

"Speaking of which, we better get rested up for tomorrow," Paige said. "See you all tomorrow!"

Goodbyes were exchanged between Isabelle, Marietta, Clarke, Grant, and Andrew and ourselves. Jack said he was going to stay with Isabelle til around midnight, and by then he was implying that we should 'be in bed' by then. We caught on and left out the back of the sanctuary, myself so blah and weary I felt like I wasn't alive.

Lindsay drove home and we were mostly quiet. We listened to the radio, one of my favorite Christmas songs being played by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In the middle of it, I pulled out my cell phone and started to punch in numbers.

"Who are you calling?" Liz asked me.

"Josh, I said. "See if he can come tomorrow."

And it rang… and it rang… and it rang…

"Hello?"

"Is Josh there?" I asked.

"Uh, yes, but he's sleeping right now. Can I take a message?"

"Yeah, it's Erica," I said. "Just have him call me back tomorrow."

"Is it urgent? I can wake him up."

"No, I just wanted to see if he wanted to come to a friend's wedding tomorrow over at the Monarch church is all. Thanks, anyways."

I hung up somewhat angrily and put my phone back in my purse.

"This sucks," I said out loud. "No one's gonna be ready for a wedding by tomorrow on such short notice. No one I know, at least…"

"Don't worry," Will said. "You'll have an escort."

"Yeah. Even if it's gotta be Gibbs," Stewie said right before she ducked behind her seat. I sighed, ignoring it. Grr…

When we got back to Lindsay's Dad's, it was about a quarter after ten. I flopped down on the couch facedown as Lindsay and Stewie made a quick phone call to Robbie for Paige (he was coming) and Kourey's cell phone, me and Lindsay's sophomore buddy from Geometry seventh period. It took about ten minutes for them to convince him, and I moaned into the couch as the hung up.

"Okay, Kourey's a keeper," Lindsay said. "But we have to pick him up tomorrow on the way out to the church."

"Lindsay, there's a limo coming to pick us up tomorrow," I said, standing up. "We cannot fit the entire world in that limo!"

"We can sure as well try!" she said. "Which reminds me, speaking of other worlds, where's the ruby, Stewie?"

"Up on your nightstand beside the stack of CDs," she said immediately with a laugh. "And I made sure I'd remember that."

"Good," Paige said. "Come on. You two coming?" she asked Will and Liz. "It'd be helpful and all."

"I don't know if we really should," Elizabeth said. "The more people that use the ruby, the more it shrinks. It doesn't just apply to how many times you use it."

"Man, this thing should come with a manual," I said as well all went through the kitchen and up the stairs. Once we were in Lindsay's room Paige picked up the ruby and stood apart from us all.

"So who's coming?" she asked.

"I am!" Stewie said immediately.

"Me too!" Lindsay said. "Erica, come on!"

"Well, shouldn't one of us stay back just in case Justin or someone would show up early?" I asked. "I mean, you leave these two here and then Jack comes back and finds out they didn't go with us to help? Then what?"

"Erica, Jack obviously thinks we're capable. He wants us 'asleep' by the time he gets back. Which means we have to be out of here. And you have to come, savvy?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine," I said.

"Good," Lindsay said. "Will, Liz, food's in the kitchen, remote's on the couch, toilet's back there, but you probably already know your way around enough, right?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth said. "Please be careful, though."

"If you don't end up in Port Royal or anywhere familiar, just come back, alright?" Will said. "I'd go with you, but you seem persistent as to do this yourselves."

"Kay," Paige said as we linked our arms.

"And don't get yourselves captured or anything stupid like that," Will said.

"Will, come on," Stewie said. "It's us. If we do get captured, we just go psycho and freak them all out and trick them into believing that we're gods or something!"

"Right," Will said with a humoring smile to Elizabeth. "Well, be back in about seven hours maximum. Then at least you can catch a few hours of sleep before we get ready."

"Okay," I said. "We'll shoot to be back for around five or six. See ya."

Will and Elizabeth stepped back away from Me, Lindz, Stewie, and Paige, both of the trying to hide their uneasy looks from us. I sighed heavily, excited and still freaked out about how this who thing was gonna turn out.

"Ready, guys?" Paige asked as she wrapped her hand around the ruby.

"More ready than we'll ever be!" Lindsay said.

"Okay, here we go…"

We shut our eyes and started the counting in unison thingy.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three."

Before I even opened my eyes, I immediately heard the ocean, but no surprise there. I mean, come on, seriously…

When I did open them however, there was like no difference at all from them being open or shut. I panicked a bit and blinked more and more and more, but no change at all.

"Um…guys? Where are you?" I asked nervously.

"Right next to you, where do you think?" Stewie asked.

"Paige, Lindsay, you guys there?"

"Present and accounted for," Lindsay said.

"Aye," said Paige.

"Okay… where the heck are we?" I asked.

"We're trying to figure that out," Paige said, shuffling her feet about on what sounded sand. "Hmm… the floor's not wooden or rocking, so we can't be on a ship… and we surely can't be on an island. We'd see the sky…"

"Then where on earth…"

Suddenly, a cellar-type door opened above me, and the four of us spun around and looked up. Moonlight came inside this room/ space we were in, and we saw these two corky people entering. Each of us let out some sort of screech, surprised gasp, or word as they saw us and each whipped out a sword, the thin lanky one quite sloppily.

"Guys, I can see the sky now," Stewie said, throwing us totally off.

Anyways…

"Hey!" the short fat one said. "What're you doing here?"

I started laughing nervously as we backed up just a bit, but then I stood up a little taller and made my laughter more pronounced. I knew who these people were! And after that terrific scene with Jack in the cave, how could I not resist? The short guy (if you can guess who he is) looked up at his tall partner (hint hint wink wink) in confusion, but the tall one only rubbed his eye, which started to make an unpleasant creaking sound. I cringed a bit as they came down the stairs until the squeaking and creaking stopped. The drenched us in light from a torch, and I winced a bit.

"Um, lower the light some… thank you," I said quietly. "Uh… We are here because we were… put here," I said thinking off the top of my head. "Your captain trapped us here long ago when we were young."

"Our captain's dead," the short one said in this somewhat offended voice.

"Yeah," the other said. "And we've been here loads of times over the years and you four were never here…"

Crap.

"Well that's because we've been hiding," Lindsay said. "Sorry 'bout your captain, too, old chum. He was a greedy swashbuckler when he picked us up in Tortuga twelve years ago, and I'm sure we was when he died, too. But now that you're here, something bad's going to happen to us, huh? Shot, stabbed, raped… the usual?"

They looked at her in confusion a moment.

"You're comin' with us, that's all you got te worry about," Shorty said. "Get them to the ship, Ragetti. I'll get the supplies."

- Jessica's PoV -

Ragetti and Pintel! Oh my gosh! I love these guys! Even if they're evil…

Well, on the way out of the sandpit supply cellar thing, I was walking behind Ragetti with a really big smile. I mean, it hurt my cheeks. Haha… Paige, Erica and Lindsay were behind me (in that order, hehe), and when we got out of the sandpit supply cellar thing, the moon hurt my eyes and it was really bright.

"Ow…" I moaned, covering my eyes. "It burns!"

Then Paige hit me in the shoulder rigidly. "What?" I asked, turning around. She looked passed me, so I looked next.

"Oh! It's a big ship!" I said with a laugh. "Hey guys! It's a big ship!"

"Well I don't see a thing, Stewie," Erica said sarcastically. "Duh there's a ship! And not just any ship either! Look again."

"Well sorry," I said, twisting up my face and turning back around. I did look back up at the ship not just because Erica told me to, but also because it was just too exciting and creepy.

Oh no. I know that ship!

It's hard to see because it's dark, but I know that ship!

"The Pearl," I said quietly with a small smile. But wait. Ana and Gibbs and Thomas had it. What happened? "Hey Paige?" I whispered.

"Yes?"

"Barbossa didn't have another evil daughter, did he?"

"No."

Dang it. Then what's all this about! What happened to Ana and Gibbs and Thomas? NO! The fiends! I shall vanquish them and reclaim the ship and-

"Hush it up back there," Ragetti said, leading us onto the ship and along the port side to the stairs. "Down in you go til we come a-callin'!"

Down, down, down into the dark spooky ship we went…

"We're goin' DOWN DOWN in an earlier round-!"

Lindsay and Erica were giggling, but Ragetti grabbed my face and told me to shut up or he'd cut me into thin little slivers. I pushed him back off of me, and he opened up a cell door, disgustingly trying to be all gentlemanlike.

"After you, miss," he said with this rotten smile.

"Dude, use some mouthwash," I said, walking into the dark little cell. Paige, Erica, and Lindsay shuffled in next, and Ragetti locked us in.

"Got you some company, you slimy ninnies," he said to the dark shadowy corner. With a look back at us, he turned to go, but then, before I could comprehend it, this raging mass of person came flying out of that dark shadowy corner, gripping the bars angrily. Ragetti leapt back in surprise, as did we all. Sheeze!

"Back! Get back!" Ragetti said.

"You open this door or I'll kill you," this crazy woman said in this snarling voice. "Open it. NOW!"

Ragetti didn't answer. He just ran up the stairs like a sissy.

"You bantling! Come back or I'll have your head while you sleep!"

I watched this crazy person as she flung her arms off of the bars angrily. She let out this shriek and then continued to mutter evil and nasty things as she returned to the corner.

Wait…

"Ana?" Paige asked, beating me to it. "Is that you?"

The wild woman stopped and turned her head to look at us.

"Who are you?" she asked, keeping her distance.

"It's Paige," she said. "And-"

Before she finished, Thomas and Gibbs came out of the corner!

"Whoa," Erica said.

"Thomas! You're okay!" Lindsay said, running up to him and hugging him. Ana looked over at them, Thomas totally confused. But after looking at her a few seconds, he smiled.

"Jane! What are you doing here?"

Then Ana looked slowly back over at us, Gibbs lost in the moment.

"You," she said. "You're here? Now? Why? Do you know what's become of Jack since he took off after the Governor went missin'?"

"Ana, you just might wanna sit down," Erica said. "Or stand… your preference… but anyways, Jack, Will, and Liz came to hide in our time," she said with a low voice as Thomas and Gibbs leaned in to listen. "Something's about to happen with Jack, so we came back to get you three. But you're here, not in charge of the Pearl… what happened on your end?"

"The rats got a new captain and took us," Gibbs muttered. "Three to thirty-so, we didn't have much luck as you could imagine… Their new captain's not even worth a grain of salt if ye ask me. He knows nothin'."

"Well, details, details, we'll get it back afterwards," Paige said.

"Yeah, we need you to come with us now!" I said. "Jack's getting married!"

"_What?_" the three of them asked sharply.

Erica, Lindsay, and Paige each gave me look, and I shrunk a little.

Oops.

"Married?" Anamaria asked. Then a dark look came over her face. "Off in hidin', my arse…"

"Exactly," Erica said, getting excited at her anger. "We don't want him to get married either, especially so soon and to our history teacher! That's why we came and got you guys! Can you please help us?"

"Please!" I begged.

"You can get up, lass," Gibbs said. "No need for that."

"Plus, I need a date for the wedding tomorrow," Lindsay said, looking up at Thomas. "You're my escort."

"What?" he asked lost.

"Once we fix you up, you'll look fine!" I said.

"Yeah," Erica said. "Thomas, you're part of the wedding we're going to stop. I know it's confusing, but chill. Ana and Gibbs, if you two come back, Jack can't see you until the moment's right. But we have to stop this."

"Stop it we must, aye," Ana said. "But goin' to your future place is got me a little on the cautious end."

"Everything'll pan out, promise," Erica said. "We have the ruby here, and once you guys come back with us, we'll tell you everything you need to know. But right now, we just have to get out of here, okay?"

"What about the ship?" Thomas asked. "You're going to leave it in the care of these crazy blighters?"

"Well, if he's as stupid as Gibbs says, no biggie," I laughed. "What's his name? Does Jack know him?"

"No," Ana said. "Name's Rankin. Never heard of the man."

"Okay, so obviously, Jack's gonna be mad that we left him with the ship, but we've got to go," Erica said. "Please come?"

Ana gave an unsure look to Gibbs and Thomas.

"What's say you, boys?" she asked.

"Aye," Thomas said happily. "As if we had a choice."

"Aye," Gibbs said. "Ain't about to let Jack go and do somethin' like that!"

"Great!" I said. "Paige, the ruby! Come on!"

"Okay, okay! Everyone grab on, make sure you're touching, close your eyes, and count together!"

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three."

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- Sorry for the long wait, ladies and gents! I've been slammed with lots of stuff, including the founding of my very own chorus group to be in charge of for the concert Dec. 4th and the announcement of the new musical! The Wizard of Oz! LoL… Bomb threats in school, report cards, work, a bunch of homework, and teaching myself piano and how to read music now, too. But just know that Jack and I haven't forgotten ye! I'll update sooner, promise!

Jack: Ye better!

Chill, I will…

Please Review!


	21. Fight back! HUZZAH!

(A/N – Okay, so turns out I'm not exactly going to England or Ireland because I won't have the money... BUT, I'm saving up for this awesome keyboard! I'm teaching myself piano and how to read music in my other spare time, so yeah… Four day weekend, too! Huzzah, man! Jack, we are SO messing up our sleeping patterns this weekend, lol…)

Any piano players in da house, Reviewers?

x) wayunlucky13 - I love Anamaria, too! LoL. She is so kick-ass towards everyone. One of my idols, haha. I'm glad you liked one of these give or take a few last five chapters, LoL. Enjoy 'em while they last! Thnaks for reviewing!

x) Sentinel Sparrow - Yes, bomb threats at school. I've been watching the news lately, too, and I did see about the three blasts over there. This world is getting so screwed up anymore. That's why I write mainly; not wholly because I love to, but it's such an escape and I can create my own world with made up simple problems like the pickle fell in the toilet or something stupid like that... Anyways, LoL, thanks for the review! I hope you like this one!

.: I'm ordering all this sheet music, too, LoL. :.

**CLE – "Hero" by Nickelback**

_Strikes a gloomy D minor chord_ Disclaimer…

_Strikes a happy C major chord_ Claimer!

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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: "Fight back! HUZZAH!"

- Erica's PoV -

We flickered our eyes open, but something was definitely wrong. I didn't recognize this place at all immediately until I scanned around. We were up on the deck of the Black Pearl now, which was utterly confusing.

"What are we doing here!" Lindsay asked incredulously. "It's a time transporter, not just a transporter."

"Just be thankful we're out of that dreadful cage," Paige said. "And keep your voices low. Someone's up in the crow's nest."

The seven of us looked up, and Ana and Gibbs led us towards the back of the ship where we could possibly stand a better chance of getting out of here. We hid in this little maze of crates and huddled together.

"Oy, lass with the jewel," Ana said, beckoning Paige closer. "Let's try this a-"

"Guys?"

"Not now, Stewart," Lindsay said. "Come on, link arms."

"But-!"

"Jess, hurry up!"

Finally, she just resorted to stabbing us in the shoulders with her fingers.

"Geez, Stewie, what is it!" I whispered angrily.

BOOOOM!

Five seconds later before I knew it, I was struggling to sit up under a huge pile of rubble and blasted crates. It was a cannonball! Crap! I looked around for the others, and Stewie and Thomas were under the pile with me. I moved painfully over to Stewie, who was unconscious, and Thomas sat up, helping me dig her out.

"Where's Anamaria?" I asked. "And Lindsay and Paige and Gibbs!"

"I don't know," he said. "But hurry! We have to get out of here!"

He helped me stand and then took Stewie and swung her over his shoulder, and we ran behinds some more fallen crates as another cannon fired and rocked the ship violently.

"Lindsay!" I bellowed. "Where are you!"

BOOOOM!

"Get down!" Thomas shouted, kneeling behind our little makeshift crate fort. He laid Stewie face down after we shook again, and I tried to wake her up as Thomas stood.

"And what are you doing?"

"Going to find the others," he said. "They're over on the other end."

"You idiot, you can't just run out there!" I said.

"Too late," he said before disappearing around the crates.

"Thomas! Come back!" I yelled. "You're such an idiot!"

Okay, he obviously wasn't listening; so I turned back to Stewie, trying my best to revive her. I am so glad I took the CPR and First Aid this past semester, but I can't think straight!

"Stewie! Stewart, wake up!" I said, shaking her. "I promise I'll listen from now on, okay! And I'll buy you General Tso's Chicken when this whole mess is over!"

_BOOOOM!_

All right, I've at least established unresponsiveness. Pulse? Yes. Breathing? No. Um… that means she just needs rescue breathing! But how do you do that on a ship that's being attacked!

Suddenly, Lindsay and Thomas came back around the corner of crates.

"Thank God!" I said, hugging her quickly. "Where's Paige and Ana and Gibbs? You two all right?"

"Fine," Lindsay said, looking down at Stewie for a moment. "I twisted my ankle and hit my head, though. I don't know what happened to them, but is Stewie okay?"

"Not breathing," I said. "She's got to get out of here. We need the ruby. These canons are getting closer and they don't sound friendly."

_BOOOOM!_

"Paige had it," Lindsay said after we ducked. "But I'd imagine it's being tossed around the ocean after a blast like that. How could she have possibly held onto it?"

"Don't tell me that," I said seriously with a scared face. "I'm not about to be stuck here."

"And I am?" Lindsay asked sarcastically.

"Come on!" Thomas said. "The crew members are coming now! They see us and think we've boarded the ship and we're done for.

"Right you are, lad."

We looked up and saw that Mr. Twigg character pointing a pistol at us from in between the crates, but before he had the chance to even click the gun, Anamaria came in from the side knocking him to the ground, and the Paige appeared in his place.

"There you are!" she said. "We've got to get out of here!"

"No, really?" Thomas said, taking the thought right out of my head. He stood up and swung Stewie over his shoulder again, ducking with the rest of us as another huge cannonball shook the ship.

_BOOOOM!_

"It's too overrun with the other crew!" Paige said. "We're not gonna make it out of here unnoticed! Especially if Ragetti or Pintel see us!"

"Look!" Thomas said. And so we uniformly turn around in unison and look; there's this huge ship with giant white sails coming up next us all painted nice and that… Wait.

"Is that a Royal Navy Ship?" I asked in disbelief. "I though they were our friends after last year?"

"They are!" Ana said. "And that is one of their blasted ships… oh, that Norrington is going to get a mouthful and a swing from me, let alone what Jack's gonna bloody do to him…"

A few seconds later, the ships were almost touching, and the Naval officers started coming onto the Pearl swinging swords and shootin' people, and we all ducked down behind the crates again. I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly, we come back to find three freakin' people to go sabotage a wedding in the dead of night, but no. I can't just come and go in five minutes, I've gotta lick boots to keep my head in a freak sea battle at midnight. What are the chances of all this!"

"Calm down," Lindsay told me. "We can handle this. No biggie."

"No, no biggie at all," I mumbled sarcastically. "Well, Captain Cool, what do you suggest we do?"

"Fight back!" she said, picking up Twigg's pistol. "HUZZAH!"

Then she ran off screaming and screeching and shooting willy-nilly, but she was fighting the pirates that had captured _us_. Hmm, not bad…

"Well, now what?" Thomas asked.

"We fight back!" I laughed. "Duh!"

Paige and Anamaria smiled and ran out into the mess with me, and Thomas eventually joined us once he had hidden Stewie well enough. I didn't go far from her because I wasn't about to abandon her, but I was surprised at how well I've done after being rusty for over five months. And then finally after a while, the navy realizes what idiots' they've been, but the fight goes on.

And on, and on… and on…

- 5:30 AM -

…And on until we won and I was so exhausted I just fell over on the deck and lay there a few minutes. Rankin, the captain who was found to be this old shoemaker, was arrested and taken to the hold of the newest ship added to the Royal Navy family, the Eminence, along with all the others that weren't dead. There were about thirteen surviving evildoers, including Pintel and Ragetti. I had a nasty feeling about it, but disregarded it as I usually do.

After it all happened, though, Norrington himself was on the ship and walked up to Anamaria. She unfolded her arms and stood taller, a nice evil glare in his direction. Lindsay, Paige, Stewie (she woke up halfway through the battle), and I were standing behind her somewhat, and Thomas was with us.

"Miss-"

"Don't you 'miss' me," Anamaria shot out immediately. "Jack will have your head once he's seen what you've done to his ship and I have the mind to do it for him myself right now!"

"May I please finish?" he asked calmly. Ana huffed, signally for him to go ahead. "Thank you. Now, let me explain firstly why we attacked. The Governor-"

"-Is missing, so any ship is a bad ship, eh?" Ana said.

"No. Let me finish."

"Fine."

"As I was saying, our only reasoning for attack was to find the Governor, and since this ship has the wonderfully inconvient way of sailing with black sails, we took the ship thinking that white sails had been dropped for the night by another vessel. I intend to have this shi repaired to Mr. Sparrow's liking, whenever he so chooses to return."

"You best have it restored before he shows up, mate," Ana said. "He ain't goin' to be too happy to find out you were the one firing at it."

"And he'll be pleased to know that you allowed it to be captured by an old shoemaker and his henchmen?" Norrington asked coolly. Ana glared at him as the five of us stood back, waiting to see who would win.

"You just better watch yourself," she said. "We may still be on friendly terms, but don't you mess around with Jack. He's no fool."

"You speak so highly of him," said Norrington. "Tell me, did he tell you where he, Turner, and Elizabeth were running off to?"

"No, but these lassies back here did," she said, motioning towards us. "Told us everything we need to know. Now would you kindly take and repair this ship before we return in a few days' time, or do I have to stay and make sure you do it?"

"That won't be necessary," Norrington said, his eyes fixed on us. Then he blinked once and walked passed Anamaria a bit to us, looking at us skeptically. "You're the ones with the ruby?"

We nodded. "Yeah," Lindsay said. "Don't you remember us?" Norrington nodded in understanding and somewhat distastefully at us.

"So they went to another time, not another place," he said. "How clever of him. Now the question that really remains is, what are you doing here without them?"

"We came to get Ana, Thomas, and Gibbs!" Stewie said. "But then we were captured, fought in a battle and now we're being interrogated by you, so if you could hurry it up a bit, it'd be a big help. We need to be back by six o'clock."

"Right," he said, standing up straight. "Why do you come back for them, though? Trouble in your times?"

"Why do you care?" Lindsay asked. "We need to go!"

"But the ruby was lost during the battle," I said. "We aren't getting back."

"Never say never."

Again, we spun around in unison, and we saw Gibbs clambering down the deck towards us on a bad leg, and he smiled, showing the ruby in between him thumb and forefinger. We ran over to him excitedly, not having seen him at all after the first cannon fired. Paige tried to take it from him, but he retorted.

"Nah, I'm comin'!" he said. "Huddle round me, now! Quick!"

"But you're hurt!" I said.

"I trust your medical care is good," he said in pain. "Now this is no time for tom-foolery, grab on!"

"Wait," Norrington said. "Where are you going? We could use a little help searching for the Governor, you know!"

"Where do you think?" Lindsay asked. "Okay, listen. We'll send Gibbs back with the ruby and when you find the Governor, just come find us in the year 2005 so Elizabeth isn't worried to death. Then there's the parting of our ways and we're all happy again, k?"

Norrington was confused as we took our positions, so we just ignored him.

"Come on, guys! Count!" Lindsay said.

"Bye, Norry!" Stewie said cheerfully.

"Just count, Jess!"

"Okay! Sheeze…"

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three."

Eyes opened, and we suddenly fell into a big heap on Lindsay's bedroom floor because Gibbs had pulled us down. We rolled off of him as we heard people come running up the stairs, and Stewie quickly ran over to lock the door.

"Hurry, get out of here, Gibbs!" Anamaria said. "The Navy should fix you up, they owe it to us."

"All right, I'm goin'," he said. "I've never interfered with a wedding before anyways, but send Jack my regards."

"Out with ye," Paige said. "Go on!"

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Fine," he said. "But I don't like it."

Having never witnessed someone actually travel with the ruby the correct way (last summer sending the pirates back doesn't count), it was pretty cool to see him gone after he said 'one.' Then more knocking came, and we shoved Thomas and Ana back into the wall, myself, Lindsay, and Paige standing in front of them, hiding them poorly.

"Who is it?" Stewie asked.

"It Will and Elizabeth!" Will whispered. "Open up! And be quiet!"

Stewie obeyed, and Will and Liz stepped inside as Jess shut the door silently behind them.

"I'm amazed you didn't wake Jack up," Will said. "You sounded like you were having your own little party once you got back."

"Yeah, party's the word," Paige said sarcastically.

"Ana! Thomas!" Elizabeth said, after we moved aside. "I'm glad they found you! We were beginning to worry that you all wouldn't be back in time and that something had happened."

"Something did happen," Stewie said.

"What?"

"Yeah, there was a battle," Lindsay said. "They were outnumbered and this old shoemaker took the Pearl, then we escaped, Norrington attacked us, we helped kill the bad guys, the Governor's still missing, and now they're going to fix the ship up for Jack as an apology and come find us with the ruby once they've found the Governor if we're still here."

"They have the ruby now?" Liz asked.

"No, Gibbs does," Anamaria, said. "He went back to have some repairs done on his leg, and if those officers are smart, they'll do it and patch up the ship, or Jack won't be too happy when he finds out."

"So they have it incase they find the Governor, that way they can come here to tell you," Thomas said to Elizabeth. "Until then, we are stuck."

"You're right," Anamaria said. "And since we can't go for what may seem a while, I want the story in full. Jack's gettin' married I hear. And because you don't like it, you brought us back to help stop this wedding. Why?"

"He'll listen to you!" Lindsay said.

"Ha! Jack doesn't listen to anything he doesn't want to. Selective hearing is one thing I could say he's got nailed down to a tee," Ana said. "I agree to help, but there are a few terms."

"Name them!" I said excitedly.

"I'm not changing into anything special and I'm going back right after this."

"Easy enough!" Paige said. "But just remember, we told Jack we were going back for Thomas, so you cannot be seen until we throw this plan into action."

"Then how will she get to the church?" Will asked us.

"Um… well…"

"Is Jack downstairs right now?" Ana asked.

"Yes," Elizabeth said. "Why?"

"I should hurt him now… I about got my left arm taken off because of him! If he wouldn't have left just us with the ship, we would've never been attacked by the shoemaker, his band of idiocracy, and the damn Navy!"

"No, Ana, control yourself!" I said. "You beat him to a bloody pulp later, after we get to the church. Right now we have to get Thomas ready and ourselves ready because we've got to be there in about six hours."

"And yes, it will take that long," Stewie said, seeing the looks on Thomas's and Ana's faces. "You may not have to get all dolled up, but we do! By the way, are we picking Kourey up, or is he coming over?"

"Picking him up, unless we call him and he feels like walking out here, but I doubt it," Lindsay laughed. "Besides, this is gonna take a lot of explaining on his half anyways."

"This could take a lot of explaining to anyone," I half-mumbled.

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Pu-dah! Another chapter!

And how fun the simple things can be in life, huh Jack? Just watching a movie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Yippee!) on an afternoon off from school eating pizza, drinking 'rum,' having a pillow/ tickle war, and prank calling people from cellphones at the playground with four of your best friends… I hope everyone experiences an afternoon like that. They are so cool. And so what if it's Tuesday and I'm back in school? I'm in love! And I'm a recent Beatles fan, too, LoL. There's some trivia for ya!

JC: AHEM...

What?

JC: This is a chapter, not your diary.

Oops. I guess so, huh? hehe...

Please Review!


	22. Chin up, lassie

(A/N – Oh boy oh boy oh boy… Christmas is coming! Woo hoo! Along with the passing of Lindsay's 16th (11.27.05) and Stewie's 15th is this Wednesday (12.7.05)! Which can only mean one thing… _flips back to the first chapter_ Read it, peeps! We're getting ready, lol. Well, I'll let you go now. Jack and I have a huge pile of Christmas cards to fill out, haha…)

Woot! My Reviewers love me!

x) Sentinel Sparrow - Nah, we can't flog Norry, sorry. he has a reoccuring role in this one, lol. But behind thie scenes, maybe if we found a good stick... erm, ahem... Anyways! I have not seen Constantine yet, but I shall! Haven't seen HP4 yet either because I had to work the day my church's Youth Group went last weekend -- Haha.. Well, thanks so much for reviewing, and enjoy this wonderful chapter!

x) wayunlucky13 - This is the third (and final) Just An Odd Pirate Story, sorry to say, It was so fun to write them, especially for you guys and with the suggestions of some friends. I now have them to keep and reminisce with, so yay! LoL. But don't worry, I have not stopped wiriting PotC fanfiction! What about dear Ronie and Val? LoL. After this is over, I'm starting on some LotR fanfics, so I hope you read them, too. Thanks and enjoy!

.: Right? You do love me, right:.

**CLE – "Far Away" by Nickelback** (Haha, two Nickelback in a row… Hope you don't mind! I can across this song just a bit ago and I absolutely love it! The beat fits nicely with the chapter, too. So enjoy it!)

What's with the disclaimers, huh? All they do is kill the whole point of spreading peace and love at this time of year. DISCLAIMERS: THE GRINCHES OF THE FANFIC WORLD.

CLAIMERS: THE BEST THING SINCE PUDDING.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: "Chin up, lassie."

- 10:30 AM -

Over the course of the next five hours, lots of stuff happened. Will and Elizabeth explained (_cry of defeat_ Eh heh…) that Jack had brought back our bridesmaid dresses and the three tuxes for himself, Will, and Thomas while we laid around in agony and pain from the freak middle of the night battle. Jess lay down on Lindsay's bed with Paige, and they rested their heads; Lindsay iced up her swollen ankle, and I passed around the Band-Aid box to Ana (who refused any healing aids of this time period) and Thomas (who graciously accepted one for his finger). Seriously, Lindsay's bedroom was like a temporary war zone hospital.

Around seven, all of us got off of our lazy butts and changed (for the exception of Anamaria and Jack, who was still asleep downstairs). Will and Thomas looked great in the suits, but I really hoped this was the last time we'd see them in them because it was just plain weird. Plus, we don't want to have another wedding issue, now do we?

Our dresses were big, red, poofy, and glittery as aforementioned, and Liz was wearing the same dress she had worn to the Christmas dance Friday night. She then quickly did each of our hair up in this French twist bun thing with a huge poinsettia that looked awesome, and then we went downstairs around eight-thirty and woke Jack up, keeping Ana hidden Lindsay's room.

He looked so nice and so different in that suit. I was panicking so badly right now and I knew it was only gonna get worse once I was walking down the aisle behind Marietta, but I couldn't imagine how my panic could be any greater. Boy was I wrong. It got a lot worse, but we'll save that til due time.

So, with such a runabout morning occurring, even more happened. Kourey and Robbie both showed up around nine-thirty/ ten o'clock, and they looked really great. It only made me bite my lip as to who I was gonna have to bring. I'd probably end up grabbing some random guy out of the congregation…

Right now, however, I am currently finishing biting all of my nails off while I sit at the kitchen table with Stewie, Paige, Kourey, and Robbie. Lindsay was making us scrambled eggs and toast, and Thomas was offering us some milk.

"No thanks," I said to him, poking at my eggs. "My stomach doesn't handle milk good to begin with, let alone when I'm having a breakdown. I'll just have some water."

"You should really eat something now, Grace," Will said, standing behind me with Liz as they sipped some coffee from a mug (which they both had taken a recent liking to). "Get your strength up."

"He's right, you know," Kourey said. "Eat some food."

"I've had plenty," I lied.

"Bullcrap!" Stewie laughed. "Eat up!" She took my fork from me and shoved a mouthful of egg into my mouth, and I choked, swallowing reluctantly however. I gave her a bit of a glare as Thomas sat my glass of requested water in front of me. Lindsay laughed as she pulled up a chair between Paige and Kourey and sat down eating.

"Thank you so much, Stewart," I said before taking a long drink from my glass. As I drank, I could hear Jack coming down the stairs, and I looked up with all of the others. He looked up from straightening his tie, and it was a very awkward moment. I swallowed the biggest lump I had ever experienced in my throat and felt my eyes start to shine up a bit. Jack sighed, stepping off of the step and looking at each of us as we held our breaths.

"Ye look great, lassies," he said now. "And how fine the lads look, too. Thomas! How's the Pearl been?"

"Erm... great, sir, except-"

"Except!" Paige said loudly, cutting him off. "Except that Gibbs and Ana have been at each other's throats lately," she said for cover.

"Oh really? Ye saw them while gettin' Thomas here?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Lindsay said.

"And how's Ana? Keeping the crew in order?"

"Keeping them alive and well," Stewie said with a smile. "We chitchatted a bit before leaving."

"Did ye tell Ana where we went?" he asked a bit dangerously.

"Well, uh… that depends," Lindsay, said with a little laugh. "Did you want us to tell her?"

"Did ye or not?"

"Um… yes…"

"Good," he said to our surprise with a nod as he moved across the kitchen. "She should know. Would've told her and Gibbs on the parting way out, but the conditions under which we left didn't really allow for it."

"You know, you never did tell us how you got back here," I said. "You sort of just showed up on Stewie's bunk and that. Sort of just appeared."

"You mean like last time?" Robbie asked.

"Yeah, sort of," I said.

"There's no time for that, we've got too much to do," he said. "When's the limousine arrivin' now?"

"Any minute now," Lindsay said, looking up at the wall clock. "Actually, it-"

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

"-Should already be here?" I asked.

"Yeeeeah…" Lindsay said, putting her fork down and standing up.

All of us around the table stood up and made our way single file into the living room. Paige opened the door, and the tall British-looking fellow in a suit stood on the porch with his hands behind his back.

"Hi!" Paige said. "Are you the coachman?"

"Sorry?" he asked in confusion.

"You're the driver?" Kourey rephrased, poking his head between Paige's and mine.

"Yes," the man said. "Here to escort you and your company to the Monarch Shepard Church this morning. Party of nine I believe you sent for?"

"Make that eleven," I said.

"Yeah," Kourey laughed. "We sort of joined the crew."

"Oh, well, I'm afraid there may not be enough room to fit eleven comfortably…" the driver said as he stepped aside for us to exit the house.

"Well, we'll just have to fit!" Stewie said.

- Jessica's PoV -

Well, I started to go out the door behind Jack, but then I stopped abruptly with a sharp gasp. Will and Kourey turned around to look at me with concern, and I started shaking my hands because I had just remembered! Will and Kourey walked back to me, closing in. Will knew.

"What's wrong?" Kourey asked.

"We forgot something!" Will said with huge eyes now, looking back towards the kitchen. "We forgot-!"

"My purse!" I yelled loudly, turning to the driver at the door. "Could you hold the cab a minute?"

"Well sure," he said.

"Great!" I said. "Come on Kourey with a K!" I grabbed his hand, and the three of us ran towards the kitchen, but then I stopped them all again. "Wait! Does the limo happen to have a trunk?" I asked the driver.

"Yes," he said skeptically. "Why?"

"Is it a big trunk?"

"Fairly decent in size, but why?"

"Good," I said, taking off with Will and Kourey again. I poked my head back around the corner real quick and said to the driver, "Because my purse happens to be really big. Just be a dear, pop the trunk, and wait for us in the car, kay?"

I didn't wait for a reply, I just ran upstairs behind Will and Kourey who were already in Lindsay's room pulling Ana back inside the window off of the little ledge outside Lindsay's bedroom window that faced the backyard.

"What in God's name are you doing out there!" Will yelled. "In bloody daylight, too!"

"Hey, it's the back of the house, so hands off, Turner," Ana said, stepping onto the floor. "I'm coming, now let go."

"I thought we were getting your purse?" Kourey asked in confusion.

"This is my purse!" I shouted hysterically. "Come on, Ana! To the Batmobile trunk for you!"

"That's your purse?" Kourey laughed.

"No time!" Will said, pushing him out behind me and Ana. "Move!"

Down the stairs we almost killed ourselves skipping stairs and stumbling, but we flew around the corner in the kitchen into the living room and B-lined for the front door. We hid Anamaria the best we could while running to the trunk, and it was opened, as I had so politely asked for!

"In you go!" I said, pushing her forward. Ana stopped.

"Now see here," she said. "That's cramped space, that is."

"It's worse in the limo," Will reassured her, picking her up and setting her inside. "Just keep low and don't cause a fuss. We really don't need it."

With that, he shut the trunk and we ran over to the limo and hopped inside. I slid on top of Erica, and Will and Kourey squished poor Liz so she could hardly breathe. In the end, Lindsay was sitting on Will and Kourey.

"Get yer purse?" Jack asked.

My head shot up, and I nodded really fast. "Yeah. Yeah, I got it," I said. "I put it in the back because I didn't think it would fit in here with all of us." Everyone who knew Ana was really back there held their tongues and looked at me quietly.

"I think it would have fit," Robbie said to me.

"Yeah, well it just goes to show what you know then!" I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Hey-"

"Okay!" Erica shouted in distress. "Mr. Driver! Please drive now!"

"Right-o, mum," he responded. I laughed.

"Mum?" Erica mouthed in confusion. A few of us laughed even more.

- Erica's PoV – At The Church -

Getting out of the limo was such fun…

And after that, us wedding participants were led to the room behind the sanctuary, and Liz parted from us. Stewie, Will, and Kourey stayed behind again to get her 'purse' out of the trunk, and I was mentally scolding myself for forgetting about Anamaria. Sheeze…

"Mr. Sparrow, I need to have a word with you," Isabelle's pastor said, poking his head into the room. "May I borrow you a moment?"

"Two if ye must," he said, heading for the doorway. "Be back in a few," he said to us.

"Actually, you won't be seeing them until the ceremony if that's all right," the pastor said. I sighed, and Jack made a face back at us of tiny disappointment.

"Right," Jack said. "See you during the ceremony then."

Then he left, and I fell down onto the hope chest wooden box thing with a huge sigh. This was not working out at all, and my nerves jumped again when Stewie returned with Will, Kourey, and Anamaria who was pitching a fit about the trunk ride.

"Please!" I said loudly and tiredly, rubbing my face. "Shut up and let's just run over the plan for the hundredth time. Ana, we've brought you here to stop this whole thing. We can't really do much from where we're standing, so you gotta come up with something."

"Something in which Jack shall not hate us in the end," Lindsay said. "Think you can manage?"

"Of course," Ana replied, unfolding her arms from in front of her and looking around at us all. "Manage I can, and manage I will."

"That's the spirit!" Stewie said. "Three cheers for Ana! Huzzah!"

"HUZZAH!" we all laughed. I smiled somewhat, still feeling extremely sick.

"Um, I'm gonna go use the bathroom, guys," I said quietly as I stood up. "I'll be back in about five minutes, okay?"

"Okay," Paige said.

"Need us to go with you?" Lindsay laughed.

"No, I'll find it," I said. "I'll be right back."

I walked out of the back room, shutting the door behind me quietly. I looked around the spacious room I was in now with the high ceiling and chandeliers. It was like a social hall, I decided. I looked up at the clock and saw that it was about half past eleven; only thirty minutes til the wedding begins. I really felt sick now.

In truth, I just wanted to get out of the room and be alone to collect myself, but I think I was breaking down even more as I failed to find the bathroom anywhere nearby. Too many things were distracting me, so I finally went into this other room decent in size with a normal ceiling and closed off. I kept the lights out and collapsed onto a nearby piano bench, my chin propped up in my hands. I started to feel tears coming, and finally I choked them back. But someone heard me.

"Don't tell me yer one of them whelps that cries at weddings."

My head slowly turned at the recognition of the voice, and as expected, there was Jack standing in the doorway in that stupid tuxedo. He looked wonderful, but this was all my fault.

"No, just at her own stupidity," I sighed, wiping my eyes and sniffing. I hunched back over with my elbows on my knees, chin in hands. Jack wasn't moving from the doorway, so I continued. "Her own idiocy, her own failure, her own fault…"

"None of this is yer fault, luv," Jack said.

"Yes it is you said it was!" I sobbed angrily in retort. "You said that I said something to make you think you could do this and I didn't mean it, Jack. I didn't. When I said that, I was mad and I was telling you who you were and that I want you to stay that way because I love you like that. The Jack I told that to is the only one I know. And now you're going and getting married and… and… and changing on me."

I held it all in despite the throbbing pain in my chest, and I shut my eyes to hold back my tears. This time, I could barely hear Jack's footsteps as he walked over to me and sat down next to me on the piano bench.

"Change… isn't always bad, darling," he said, putting an arm around me. "Lots of things change. It's an inevitable thing."

"But you can't change," I said, looking up from my hands. "You're Jack. You have to whoo every girl you see and get drunk and captain the Pearl and make witty comments. You have to look hot. Those are the rules. You have to."

"Change has no rules, sadly," Jack said to me. "And it's a part of life."

"Yeah, well life sucks," I said stubbornly.

"Don't be too hard. It's a part of life, and from the sounds of your attitude towards it, I'd say you've experienced enough to know how difficult it can be."

I looked up at him, and a very creepy moment occurred. We looked at each other in the eyes, and for once, Jack Sparrow and I actually understated one another. He knew I was afraid of change, and I knew he had experienced it, too. And from the way that creepy moment of understanding went, he didn't like it any more than I did. But he wasn't afraid like I was.

"Why can't I be brave about all this?" I asked.

"Ye are brave," Jack said. "Ye just have to give yerself a bit o' time. And if ye still aren't brave, we'll get through it together, savvy?"

I looked up at him.

"What about the code?" I asked. "Every pirate for himself? Since when does Jack Sparrow stop following the code and actually allow Little Sparrow not to?"

He gave me this look, meaning I had got him. He swallowed with a thoughtful face on and then said, "Some things are more important."

I looked at him sternly, trying to make sure he wasn't bluffing. As he stood up to go, I was even more confused.

"Wait. I don't want you to do this," I said.

"Grace, ye love to make people happy. I've noticed that 'bout ye," Jack said. "And trust me on this one. Ye've made me very happy."

"You could be happier, though, couldn't you?" I asked sadly. He was confused again, mouthing wordlessly a bit. "Never mind," I said, standing up. "If you really wanna do this and you're sure, then I guess change is inevitable."

Jack smiled and wrapped an around me as we faced the doorway. Suddenly, the church bells started chiming, and I looked up at the clock. Five minutes til the Wedding Marche.

"Chin up, lassie," he said as we walked towards the door. "Chin up."

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Ta da! Done in just two days! So proud of myself…

Jack: Whoopie!

Happy Almost 15th Birthday, too, Stewie! Just 59 more minutes! Haha… And guess what guys? I was offered to be a Student Direct for the musical this year! _THRILLED _This is so great! But I'm still not sure whether to do it or not… the show is so much fun, too! But not everyone has the chance to be a Student Director…

Jack: Ye've contemplated this over 12 hours now, can we sleep yet?

Sure, but I'll be restless because I'll still be thinking about it…

Jack: _sigh_

Please Review!


	23. You may kiss the bride

(A/N – Hey everyone! Jack and I hope you had a great holiday! I am so sorry about the mishap with the story, but I fixed it! Bwaha! And plus, my student directing duties (yes, I am a student director now!) started and last til at least 6 every night! I'm about to be buried up to my neck, but I will continue to update, don't you worry! And I'd appreciate it if you had time to go back and check out chapters 3 and 4… I rewrote them from memory and changed a few things, so let me know how I did on those, too.)

What'd you Reviewers all get for Xmas this year?

x) Sentinel Sparrow – Hey now! LoL. The series may end here, but the madness shall not! I am a miracle worker, my friend, and I answer prayers! I might do a little fic about Isabelle going to the Caribbean with us… It's a striking suggestion! So look for another update after this! I still have many loose ends to tie within the next three or four chapters and epilogue. So enjoy it! And thanks for the review!

x) Norma Jean – _pulls up bed skirt_ There you are! LoL. Man, Stewie is gonna FREAK when she finds out, haha. Finnish Indy Day? SWEET! LoL. I'm so glad you liked the chapter, and hopefully you'll like this one, too! Thanks so much for your review! Love ya!

x) wayunlucky13 – Sure sequels! This is the third story, but as I told Sentinel Sparrow above, I could maybe do a little thing where Isabelle somehow gets caught in tha Caribbean with us. I could have fun with an idea like that, LoL. But I will never stop writing or thinking about writing more PotC, never! It's in me blood to do so, and do so I shall! Haha… Anyhoo, thanks for the review! Hope you like this chapter!

x) Kenny! – Holy crap! Dotz! Yes! LoL. If you can't tell, I am in a good mood…the concert choir's little choir (the Blenders, lol) did so well at the concert! Levi topped it off with an awesome piano solo, so he sort of stole the light, but we don't mind. Everyone who didn't know who he is now does. He's like the greatest pianist in the school, LoL. Thanks for the dotz and the review, and I'll be looking for your update, missy! Hehe… No pressure here, I love you guys to death! Just enjoy the last of this story, k?

.: I got a digital camera! _happiness_ :.

CLE – "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson 

Disclaimers can kiss it…

Claimers can party at my house!

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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: "You may kiss the bride."

Jack and I walked together back upstairs to the little room in which Lindz, Stewie, Paige, Thomas, Kourey, Robbie, Will, Ana, and Marietta waited. I opened the door and looked at them all; I hoped my eyes weren't really red and puffy or anything. I could tell they noticed, but like good friends they didn't dwell too much on it.

"See you all in the ceremony," Jack said, leaving me at the door. I stepped inside with a big sigh and looked around at them all. I realized Anamaria was missing, but that's probably just so that she could put whatever her plan was into action. Suddenly, a familiar face popped out from between Thomas and Stewie's heads. We smiled at one another.

"Josh?" I asked. "What are you doing here? When-? How-?" Then I sighed. "Boy am I glad to see you," I laughed finally.

"Yeah," he said. "My mom said you called about coming to a wedding. I had nothing better to do, so I thought I'd come."

"And not at a better time!" I said. "You do know that you're _in_ the wedding, right?"

He looked around for a moment. "I am?"

"Yes. You're just walking down the aisle and standing with the guys," I said. "Nothing big."

"Oh," he laughed. "Good. Who's getting married, by the way?"

"Um… you remember Jack from school on Friday, don't you?"

"Yes," he said, laughing again.

"Well, he is," I said.

"He is?"

"Yeah," Lindsay cut in. "To the new history teacher."

"You mean Miss Garrett? My homeroom teacher?" Josh asked.

I nodded uneasily, but he just started laughing. I emitted a grim chuckle myself, seeing nothing at all funny about the given situation we were in.

_ KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Kourey opened the door, and one of the usher guys peeped his head inside. "Ladies and gentleman of the wedding party, if you would follow me to the back of the church to take your positions," he said politely.

We followed him back, my angst level rising and my nerves going haywire. I could _not_ do this. Jack? Getting married? Come on! I'm starting to laugh and this isn't funny! Hysteria must be setting in now… that's it. I'm done for. I'm just gonna end up going psycho in the middle of aisle, collapse, have a seizure, and be branded as a loon the rest of my life.

Hey…

It _would_ stop the wedding…

No, I couldn't possibly be _that_ mean…

But then again…

"Erica!"

I snapped out of my plotting, looking around. "What?" I asked wildly.

"Get behind Marietta!" Stewie said, pointing to the gap I was supposed to fill between Marietta and Lindsay. I walked into my space and looked over at Josh, feeling as sick as I ever had.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to me.

I shook my head. "Not really."

Then it came: The Wedding Marche. I froze, and everything was suddenly in slow motion. I couldn't hear anything except faintly, and the scene being played out in front of me was crystal clear instead of a blur. It was odd – like a dream.

But this isn't a dream. It's as real as ever.

I looked up and saw Isabelle and her father smile at one another genuinely before taking their first step together down the aisle toward the minister and Jack at the altar. Jack had a smile on his face I could tell wasn't of pure happiness or excitement; it was moreover a forced and stretched smile that didn't hold much care for the situation.

I stared at him for a while until Marietta and Will began to move in front of me. I then gasped my bouquet insecurely with the sweaty palms of my hands and swallowed the huge lump of worry and fear in my throat so that it fell into my empty stomach with a hard jolt. I felt so weightless like I do in a dream, but then again I felt shackles holding me to keep me here. Invisible ones mind you.

I couldn't hear my footfalls or feel them; I was so oblivious to it all. I just stared out in front of me as the standing congregation smiled at us all and the women dried their eyes with tissues and that. If they didn't stop crying, I was going to start. I was allowed. It is a wedding after all. But no. I'd break down and everything. I couldn't do that to Jack, even if he has been a major jerk lately.

The walk lasted for a long time. I almost bumped into Marietta again as I had at practice the night before, but something inside of me made me stop. We took our places up by the altar as did the guys, and Isabelle was left standing in front of Jack with her father next to her. I sighed.

The whole thing was being done right in front of me. I waited impatiently for Anamaria to show up with whatever great plan of action she had to set in motion, but she wasn't coming. I was panicking, especially when the dreaded line was spoken:

"You may kiss the bride."

I looked around with wild eyes at every single person in the congregation. You stupid retards! Speak up! Come on! This is all wrong and you know it! Oh, Ana... I am going to-

"Oi! I've got somethin' to say."

The entire church spun around upon hearing the shout from the back of the church, and finally let all of my worries out in a huge sigh. Well, most of them – how was this going to turn out?

Anamaria, anger apparent in her expression, marched down the aisle ignoring all of the family and friends that had come as witnesses of the wedding. She strode all the way down, never taking her eyes off Jack. All of us girls except Marietta leaned forward to see the expression on Jack's face. He was holding Isabelle's hands lightly as he looked at Anamaria in total disbelief, his mouth open in surprise and everything. Finally, Ana reached the floor in front of the altar steps and stopped, folding her arms.

"Well well well," she said, looking daggers at Jack. "Captain Sparrow's decided to take a wife, has he?"

Jack didn't respond; he just stood there.

"Well, according to the Code, you forfeit your captain duties upon marriage. And since Gibbs is a blubbering idiot of a first mate, I guess that leaves the Pearl to me."

"It most certainly does not!" he shouted to everyone's surprise.

"Yes it does," Ana, said right back. "It's my ship now."

"My arse," Jack said, shocking the spectators even more.

"Jack, what is all this about?" Isabelle asked. "I didn't know you had a ship."

_That's because you weren't supposed to_, I said inwardly.

"Nothing, darling, just-"

"Tell me, Captain," Ana said loudly, cutting him off. "Since when do pirates fall in love?"

Jack stood there in shock, mouth still open. He turned to Isabelle and smiled politely, patting her hand and letting them go. He then started walking down the steps sending more spirals in people's heads.

"Even _if_ that myth were true," Jack said, stepping down from beside Isabelle, "you couldn't call yerself a pirate either, now could ye?" He stopped right in front of her with a huge grin of triumph on her face as I went to cover my mouth. I just wanted to stop a wedding! Not embarrass anybody!

Ana glared at Jack a half a moment before shooting right back at him "And you could?" she asked loudly. Jack's smile then fell, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Erm, no," he said in embarrassment avoiding her eyes. Then they looked at each other again. Ana was seething with anger, but Jack looked almost apologetic. I was mentally biting my nails waiting for the next crazy thing to happen. And it did.

"So!" Jack said loudly, popping back into his usual mode. "Since neither of us are pirates anymore and there's no code that applies to us, why don't we just get this over with?"

My mouth hung open like everyone elses. He held out his arm with a seductive sneer on his face, and Ana looked at him suspiciously for a second before she took it.

- At the Reception – 2 hours later -

I was sitting at the wedding party's long table next to Marietta and Lindsay eating the last of my chicken in the front of the hall we had decorated. Stewie and Paige were flicking peas at each other down on the end of the table, and I was quiet until one hit me.

"Okay! You're gonna die, Stewart!" I said, setting down my fork.

"It was Paige! Honest!" she laughed, slinging another one at Paige while she wasn't looking. I smiled to myself and returned to my plate.

I took a drink and looked at the dance floor in front of me where some people were dancing after finishing their meals. I saw Jack and Anamaria dancing in the back where it was a bit darker and laughed to myself; heaven forbid anyone saw Jack Sparrow, brave and feared captain of the seas, dancing.

Isabelle was sitting with a group of her family and friends at a nearby table. She respected Jack's decision to all of our amazement, and she also gave Jack and Ana her best wishes. Most of her family still came to the reception, which was really cool. It was nice to know there was no grudge or anything and that Miss Garrett and Jack Sparrow would remain friends for a long time.

I looked back out at the dance floor as I sat my drink down. Marietta had somehow slipped passed me and was dancing with Isabelle's brother Clarke. Then Kourey and Josh came over to see us, another pea hitting Kourey. I laughed.

"Jessica! Stop it!" Lindsay said, grabbing her spoon from her.

"No! Mine!" she laughed, clawing at her for it.

So they got into it, Lindsay got up and ran to another part of the hall, and I laughed with Paige.

"So, what exactly happened back at the church there?" Josh laughed.

"Yeah, we sort of are confused," Kourey, said.

"Something that doesn't usually happens, I can tell you that," I said as the song ended in the background. It was quiet a moment until the DJ came on over the huge speakers.

"Alright, I will now ask all guests to move off of the dance floor and allow our bride and groom to step forward."

We watched Jack and Ana walk into the center of the room with huge smiles on our faces. It did all work out. For the best, thank god. And Jack didn't hate us! Yay! Well, at least he didn't look like he'd hate us. We hadn't really spoken since the big fiasco, but speaking in body language like Jack so infamously does, something tells me he's happier with us than he has been in a while.

Anyways, let's continue.

"We will now begin the song reserved for the wedding party, so would those members of the party please step in front of the table and pair up in order please."

I took the last bite of my chicken and quickly stood up, taking Josh's arm as we walked around the table with everyone behind us except Will and Marietta. The song started that the group of us had picked out for them (see CLE, lol), and the lights were dimmed. I smiled as the whole room watched them. Jack was a good dancer to my amazement, but then again, being a pirate and having to do all the things he does, dancing with a lady doesn't surprise me that much.

"Mr. William Turner escorting Miss Marietta Quills," the announcer said. The stepped onto the floor next and began dancing, and about twenty seconds afterwards myself and Josh went on. In intervals of twenty seconds, Lindsay and Thomas, Paige and Robbie, and Stewie and Kourey were added to our group. The majority of the song had yet to be played, however, so us couples talked in low voices and such.

"This is weird," Josh laughed, looking over at Jack and Isabelle.

"Weird doesn't even begin to describe it," I said, thinking 'if only he knew.'

"Is Paige really your step-sister?"

"No," I said. "She came from the same place Jack did. Same place as Will, Elizabeth, Anamaria, Thomas…"

"Whoa. Will they go back? How will they go back?"

"Of course they'll go back," I said. "And how they do it is with this magic ruby of some kind that shrinks when you use it til there's nothing left. It's very small now, about the size of a marble. It was as big as a tennis ball when we first saw it."

"Wow, that's cool," he said. "So there's not much time left, is there?"

"Not really," I sighed. "If they don't go back in two weeks after the ruby's use, it will disappear. They had to use it a lot when we didn't see each other for a year, but as a transporter instead of a time traveling thing."

"You mean it's both?"

"Heck yeah it's both."

"How long have they been here?"

"Not even a week, but I have a feeling they're going to want to leave," I said sadly. "And the ruby is so small, it very well may be the last time we ever see each other."

- 10:30 pm -

It was such a wonderful night that took place in the Monarch Fire Hall that will be remembered for a long time to come. We all danced and ate and had so much fun. I got to dance with Jack, too, and he was happy that things turned out as they had. He was actually glad we had interfered, which is very unexpected. But I was so happy. Everything was how it should be, and everything (for once) felt completely right.

When the tossing of the bouquet and garter came, the oddest couple on the planet go paired up, and it was _so – hysterical_. There are many pictures on my digital camera, I assure you. You wanna take a guess? Try this: Lindsay caught the bouquet, and yes, Will, William Turner, caught the garter. I had never seen Lindsay that red in the face before. Man, being as it were when we first met them, with the huge wall between Liz and Lindsay and the fighting about Will, this was priceless. Honestly, you mention one thing about that wedding, and I will crack just thinking about Will putting that garter clear up Lindsay's leg. I think those two have an understanding now. At least Jack and Ana get fifty-two years good luck (two years per inch up the leg, haha).

And right after that, we had a little occurrence… Isabelle's older brother Clarke proposed to Marietta. Isabelle told us that for the longest time they had been in and out of relationships, and I had to smile. That's not quite a fairytale ending, but it's still so sweet.

Stewie at some point managed to knock over the chocolate fountain and start a food fight at the same time, but it was short-lived. Isabelle was having a blast, despite all of the circumstances. She did dance and she did have a great time, and she even thanked us.

"I don't think I'd like to be responsible for coming between two people that were meant to be," I recall her saying to us four girls at the wedding party table during a slow song that Jack and Ana shared. "Thanks for making us realize our mistake."

And the best part of the whole dumping-Isabelle-at-the-altar-and-her-not-caring-and-just-laughing-it-off thing: she was sincere when she said the things she did. That was the coolest thing about the night.

Besides Jack accidentally missing a step carrying Ana outside and falling on top of her in the snow and then having her chase him which led to a full blown snowball fight for everyone, I mean. Now _that_ was cool.

But now that the snowball fight's over and everyone is completely soaking wet for being bombed and pelted with snow, the guests started to leave. Isabelle did come from a good family because her family was just as sincere and kind as she was when they gave Jack and Ana their best wishes. Robbie and Josh left, too, and of course we thanked them on coming on such short notice. Those guys are lifesavers. So is Kourey, but he stuck with us for a while.

As for the rest of us, Lindsay, Stewie, Paige, Thomas, Kourey, and I were bunched together around the back of Isabelle's cousin Grant's pick-up truck waiting to go home. Thomas, Paige, and myself were seated on the edge of the truckbed while the others stood around in the silent snowfall.

"So now what?" Kourey asked, rubbing his arms and looking around.

"We wait for the others," Lindsay sighed. We looked back at the door as Jack and Ana thanked the last few guests for coming. Will and Elizabeth came out around back and joined our little group.

"Well," Will said, rubbing his hands together before placing them in his pockets, "how about that wedding?" Laughter was emitted around the circle.

"I think it was beautiful," Elizabeth said.

"I think 'interesting' is more of the word you're looking for," I said.

"And if that's the word you're using, better apply it to the whole night and not just the wedding," Stewie laughed.

"Yeah, that's true," I said.

Lindsay laughed. "Well let's see. We had Ana march down the aisle and steal Isabelle's groom and then Isabelle just laughs about it, I caught the bouquet and Will, you went pretty far up my leg with that garter," – Will looked at the ground rubbing his forehead and started laughing as hard as Lindsay momentarily – "we had a proposal, a food fight, a black eye to the bartender, a Cha Cha Slide dance movement that over half the people participated in, a dropped bride, and a snowball fight." She had done all of this counting each event on her fingers.

"Don't forget when the archway collapsed on Isabelle's grandparents," Kourey said, making us all laugh again.

"And when Liz and Thomas got into the punch-throwing," I said. No, not fists, punch. The drink. Come on people; is violence all you ever think about?

"He started it," Elizabeth said, giving him a glare.

"Well thank you, Elizabeth," Thomas said. "I had several people compliment me on my pink shirt."

"What's wrong with that?" Stewie asked.

"Jessica! Where have you been!" Lindsay asked, squeezing her face together and letting go. "He's got punch all over it! That's why it's pink!"

"Oh…" Then Stewie just laughed.

Then finally, we heard Jack and Anamaria coming over to us talking. Yes. I was going home. Sleep! Huzzah!

"Yeah, and you just wait til I get you out of that ridiculous suit," we heard Ana say before bursting into laughter (our minds being weird and all). "I hate it."

"And I love it?" Jack asked sarcastically, joining us. Then he stopped, looking around at us all. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Jack," Elizabeth said. "Ready to go?"

"Sure," Jack said. "But we're not going back to the house tonight."

"But Jack! I'm tired…" Stewie whined.

"Ye'll get to sleep in a bed in twenty minutes," he said, walking towards the limo. "Promise."

"Yeah, whatever…"

On the way inside the limo, Ana nudged me and Paige, and Lindsay and Stewie joined in on instinct. Ana smiled slyly.

"How was _that_ for a diversion?"

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Well guys, there's a nice little twist for ya! No, you don't have to go back and reread it, Jack married Anamaria. That simple. I'm sorry! I've had that leaving-Isabelle-at-the-altar scene all planned out since I even ever figured out the story! Or who the other girl Jack was going to be married to! Basically, the story was shaped somewhat around that one part, and I'd say it turned out okay, wouldn't you? Anyways, I hope you liked it. Don't like, shoot me or anything. At least not til I'm done with the musical mid-March!

Please Review!


	24. Night, Norry!

(A/N – Oh my god! The Winkies are the best part of the whole show! LoL. AKA the Witch's guards that sing the 'Yo-Hee-Ho!' song. At least in our show they are, haha. Musical's been so great lately! We've recently added a Toto to the mix, and the tickets are on sale. But I'm dead tired, LoL. But I have updated! HUZZAH!)

My most humble subjects, the Reviewers…

x) Sentinel Sparrow - Go ahead, lol, it's not romance, it's just randomness! And no, I still have a few more chapters! Thank you so much for the praise, lol. Cookies for you! Huzzah! And guess what? I will have other oddities to write because this series wasthe first hing I ever wrote for PotC, so no doubt I'll have a little collection of tales about all off us together! They may not follw the story line, but they will be fun! It's like fan fiction for fan fiction, haha! I love it! Thanks a bunch for the review! Enjoy ze chapter!

x) Norma Jean - Yes, Christmas has come and gone so quickly... BUT! Prepare yourself for the next major holiday: MY BIRTHDAY! haha. March 1st! I can't wait. Musical and PSSAs are driving me absolutely bonkers, so I could use happy right now. Not to mention the wonderful musical... Thanks for reviewing! Always appreciate it! Enjoy!

x) Kenny - HAPPY BIRTHDAY 1.25.06! I beleive I shouted out your birthday in the last two or three chapters of ARGH! too, didn't I? LoL. Wow, it's been that long? I really should've had this done in August! Phew, there goes that... And don't worry, like I said to Sentinel Sparrow, I will be writing all thiese little misadventures like Isabelle in the Caribbean and stuff like that. Should be entertainin' huh? LoL. Well, I hope you've had a great birthday and that you like this chapter! Thanks for the dots, too, and the review! Love ya!

.: Did I tell you we got flying monkeys in the show, too:.

**CLE – "Blurry" by Puddle of Mud**

Disclaimer for Disney…

Claimer for the Creative!

**THE STEELERS WON THE SUPER BOWL! YES! HUZZAH! I am _so_ happy. 2.5.06**

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: "Night, Norry!"

"One."

"Two."

"Buzz!"

"Four."

"Zap!"

"Six-"

"Guys, stop with the Buzz Zap!" I moaned. "It's twelve-thirty. I'm wiped," I said, sitting up in bed. Lindsay, Paige, and Stewie were sitting on the other queen bed next to me playing that game for the eighth time while I lay there trying my _darndest _to fall asleep for the past hour.

"But it's catchy!" Lindsay laughed.

"And I'm tired!" I said. "Jess, I thought you were so tired you started sleepwalking to the limo earlier?"

"Not after I ate those two bags of M&M's from the vending machine down the hall. And the shower. Don't forget the invigorating shower!"

I sighed. Jack brings us to this nice hotel (that we had to pay for…) in Uniontown to enjoy his night and let us sleep, and I don't even get to sleep! I get to listen to Buzz Zap! How retarded is that?

"Look guys," I said, sitting up more now, "I-"

_KNOCK KNOCK_

We all looked at the door, and I sighed.

"Who is it?" Lindsay asked.

"It's Thomas and Kourey," Kourey's voice called from behind the door. "Can we come in?"

"Come in you may!" Stewie said excitedly as she jumped up to go open the door for them. The came inside, both with just their white shirts and pants on. Josh and Roberto went home earlier as I've probably failed to mention, and I have. Sorry! Anyways, Kourey and Thomas came in and sat on the edge of the bed Lindsay and Paige were on.

"God, just what I need…" I muttered, throwing the covers over my head and sinking back into my pillow in exhaustion. This is nuts. Then I sat up quickly and threw the blankets off of my looking over at the five of them. "Anyone _else_ want to come?" I asked sarcastically.

"We can go get Will and Elizabeth if you want," Kourey said, starting to get up. He made it about halfway until I shoot him a glare, and then he sat back down laughing. "It was just a joke. Calm down, Erica!"

"I'm calm," I said, "just tired."

"Well then, wake up!" Stewie yelled, jumping over to my bed. I bounced up about half a foot off of the mattress as she sat at the end laughing at me. It was hopeless to get any sleep with this bunch (no offense)…

"Guys, honestly, there's nothing to do _but_ sleep," I said. "There's no DVD player with the TV, there's nothing good on this late, and we don't have a kitchen to make food! What are we supposed to do?"

There were looks of thoughtfulness around the room and suddenly Kourey jumped up.

"Toothpaste fight!" he screamed.

"No, no toothpaste fight!" I yelled, hiding under the covers again. Of course everyone got up and followed Kourey to the bathroom, so I was pretty much gonna be the target. I laid there praying for about a minute until the blankets were torn away from me, then I jumped in surprised and squealed. The man standing over me was not Lindsay, Stewie, Paige, Kourey, Thomas, Will, Jack, Ana, or Elizabeth! It was Norrington!

"Holy crap!" I screamed, throwing the covers back over me and hiding. _Bad dream… bad dream…_

"Miss Sparrow, are you going to allow me to speak or not?" Norrington's voice asked with thin patience. I considered only half a second before removing the covers from my head and sitting up, looking at him. I sighed inwardly, too; was I ever gonna be called by my real name again?

"Hey, Commodore," I said a bit nervously. "Long time, no see."

"It's only been a day," he replied.

"Wow. Well, it feels like a lot longer, trust me."

Suddenly, the others came out of the bathroom screaming and having a good old time with the toothpaste until it was too late. They finally notice Norrington's presence _after_ they got a long ribbon of toothpaste on his nice blue jacket. Stewie turned around pretty scared as Norrington tried to remain calm.

"Eh heh… hi, Norry," she said quietly.

"Evening," he said shortly as he looked at his coat before addressing me again. "Miss Sparrow, we have found the Governor."

Faces lit up around the room.

"Really?" I asked excitedly. "That's great!"

"Where was he?" Lindsay asked.

"We found him in Port Hastings some thirty miles west of Port Royal along the coast. Apparently our pirate friends from the other night are to blame. They confessed after the Governor's retrieval some three hours ago."

Man. I felt really important being talked to like that.

"Well, super," I said. "How is he?"

"He's fine. Nothing but a few bruises and a cut hand," Norrington said. "He immediately questioned Elizabeth's whereabouts, and so as instructed to do by him and you, I have come for her and Mr. Turner."

I swallowed hard and looked at the others. Lindsay held a slanted mouth on her face and Stewie was thinking of some way to stop it all. Paige was just ready to accept the inevitable like we all should have been.

"Well, could it wait til morning?" Lindsay asked. "It's sort of late and everyone's sleeping. 'Cept us, of course. We never sleep at night."

"I can see that," the Commodore said in monotone. "As for waiting until morning, I don't see the need to. The Governor wishes to be reunited with his daughter immediately."

"But they're sleeping!" Stewie whined in a whisper. "Shh!"

"Miss Turner, I am only acting on orders."

"Well act on a stage instead!" Stewie said. "Acting is for stages!"

"She has a point," Kourey laughed. Norrington gave him a hard look, and Kourey coughed nervously and smiled until he just died into the background again.

"Just til morning, Commodore, please?" I asked. "Just so they can sleep and we can have a goodbye breakfast. Please?"

Commodore didn't reply. He's considering! Yes!

"Fine," he agreed. "I would invite you all back for breakfast in the Governor's household on his behalf, but this jewel is growing very small." He tossed the ruby to me and I caught it in the cup of my hand. It was so small – just like the amount of time we had left with the others. I sighed, clutching the half-inch sized ruby in my fist and holding it close to me.

"Okay," I said. "One breakfast and they're yours," I agreed with my voice starting to thicken a bit with emotion. I stood up and shook the Commodore's hand reluctantly so he knew he could trust our word. When our hands separated, I sighed deeply. "You uh… you want something to eat or drink?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

- Jessica's PoV – 4:30 AM -

We got Norry to loosen his tie a bit over the next few hours. We got toothpaste all over his jacket, so he had to take that off so we could 'wash' it in the shower (we pretty much destroyed it).

After that, we had a big pillow fight in which he brandished his sword and everything to get us to stop, but I just took that and his hat and declared him the pirate and myself the commodore! He didn't like being a pirate at all, so I gave him a name to make him even madder! Crooked Quincy! Haha! He eventually grabbed a pillow to fight back, and we were having a grand old time.

Then we got into some little fun games like Questions Only and that around three. Lindsay kicked our butts as usual, though Kourey is surprisingly good at it, too.

Then there was another huge pillow fight! At the end of this one, we were in piles dead asleep. Lindsay and Kourey were lying on the floor next to the dresser, Erica had a bed to herself, Paige and Thomas were sound asleep next to the window, Norry was sitting on the other bed, and I was lying down next to him trying to catch my breath.

"Some party, huh?" I laughed as I sat up. He was just staring out into space.

"Riveting," he responded blankly. "And absolutely barbaric."

"But fun!" I added. He just gave me this glare before looking at nothing in particular. I bit my lip thinking of something to say. "So, " I said, "how's life?"

"What sort of a question is that?"

"What's up? Whatcha doin'? _How – are – you? _Duh."

"Please don't say that word," he said. "It's likely to catch on."

"Too late," I laughed. "So, again, how are ya, Norry?"

"I'm fine I suppose. And you?"

"I'm good," I said, nodding. "But I'm gonna miss Jack and the others. We all are." He didn't look too thrilled about me saying that, but that's okay. At least him and Jack will talk on occasion now. "Maybe I could come with you!" I said excitedly.

"I highly doubt it," Norrington said. "We are two worlds that met by chance and chance only, not destiny or fate or whatever you'd like to call it. We are not to be even having this conversation."

"Boy, what a spirit crusher you are," I said.

"At least you understand what I'm saying."

"No, I don't," I said right back. "I think I just might come with you."

"No. Not at all."

"But my life sucks here!"

I got another glance from my speech.

"Well it does…" I mumbled.

"Trust me, Miss Turner; your life is what you make it. You have to work for what you want and want to be."

"Well you're a prime example, huh?" I asked. "Nice hat and jacket and everything."

"Yes."

I sat silent a moment. "Well I'm still coming," I said. "Lindsay and Erica may try and talk me out of it, but I'm coming. And not you or them is gonna stop me! I'm a pirate! Yo ho!"

I stood up on the bed holding a pose before flopping back down to go to sleep. Norry sat there sort of dumbfounded and mouthed wordlessly as I turned off the light and rolled under the covers.

"Night, Norry!"

He replied with a frustrated grunt and stood up, moving towards the window. My smile faded as I briefly relived the last few minutes.

Leave? Could I really leave? My mom wouldn't miss me, but my friends would… maybe they could come? No, I couldn't ask them to give up their lives. That's just the difference between me and them – they have lives here. Maybe I'm better off in the Caribbean. I could scare the bejesus out of people with my futuristic knowledge! Bwaha!

Should I?

- Lindsay's PoV – 15 min later -

I came to feeling really alert for some reason. A plan had been formulating in both Paige and mine's minds since we saw Erica reluctantly shake hands with Norrington. Let Jack and Ana and Will and Liz and all of them leave in the morning? FAT CHANCE.

So anyways, now was the time to put the plan into motion!

I got up from beside Kourey and started stumbling across the room until I lost all my balance and just rolled into Paige and Thomas. Oops.

"Ah, Jane," Thomas whined as we unjumbled ourselves. "What's the big idea?"

"Yeah…" Paige said, rubbing her eyes.

"Not time," I said, jumping up and grabbing her wrist. "We have to get the others and get out of here now!"

"Now?" Paige asked in surprise.

"Yes now!" I said. "Not time better. Everyone's asleep, and we can just leave Norrington here and make our getaway. It's perfect."

"But isn't Elizabeth going to want to see her father?" Paige said. "It's a bit rude of us to-"

"Come on," I said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to her feet. "We have to hurry. Get Erica and Stewie awake, and I'll get Kourey on my way out to the hall to wake the others. Do _NOT_ forget to grab the ruby off of Norrington. He has it, and without it, you're stuck here because if he finds out we left him here with the ruby, he will take actions in making our lives totally stink."

"Okay," I'll get that first then," Paige, said.

"No!" I said. "Get Erica and Jessica up and make sure they're on their way out before you go anywhere near him. Hurry, okay? I'll meet you guys down at the end of the hallway."

I started to head for the door, but Paige stopped me again.

"Wait," she said. "Jane… don't you smell that?"

I bent my eyebrows and started sniffing. "Smells like smoke," I said.

"That's what I mean," Paige said, going for the door. She leaned against it and was silent as she used all of five of her senses in three seconds. "The door's warm," she said as Thomas and I came up beside her. "I think there's a fire out there."

My mind raced and blanked out at the same time. "Fire?" I gasped weakly. "There can't be a fire!"

"There is," Paige said quietly, leaning away from the door. "Get the others up. We need to get out of here." She was so serious it scared me. "Thomas, go wake up anyone in the hallway that you can," Paige instructed. "Everyone! Get up!"

Before I started my shouting, I ran over to Norrington and relieved him of the ruby. He jolted awake, so I pretended like I was waking him up instead of robbing him.

"Come on!" I said. "Fire! Get up!"

Norrington jumped up and grabbed his coat as the others began to stir and smell the smoke. I could not believe this. My plan is always ruined! Or maybe it wasn't… this mass chaos could prove perfect for our getaway from Norrington! But Paige did have a point… we sort of couldn't leave him here in the twenty-first century-

"Lindsay! Come on!" I heard Stewie yell from across the room as the air began to thicken with wisps of smoke. I ran towards them, and we headed for the door. Norrington was right behind me. Kourey was handing us pieces of material to cover our mouths with as the fire alarms started to sound.

"On three, I'm going to open the door," Erica said. We could already hear voices out in the hallway panicking and running, and I hoped that Jack and the others were safe. I really did.

"One, two, three."

Erica opened the door, and we filed out with our mouths covered into the mess of people, shouting, and thick smoke. I started coughing as Stewie grabbed my wrist and led me towards the stairs everyone else was running down. It was really scary seeing all of this play so fast around us.

Once we were out of the building, we looked up the hotel to find it up in flames on the opposite side of where our room was. I covered my mouth with my hand in shock.

"JACK!" Erica screamed, "WILL!"

"ELIZABOTH!" I shouted (short o, lol. Well, if you listen to Will scream her name, that's what it sounds like.). "JACK!"

"ANA!"

We kept shouting until it made more sense to head for the car. When we were inside and freaking out, I large thing suddenly flew onto the car hood, making us all scream and Erica slam her hand on the car. The person rolled off in surprise and onto the road moaning. We got out of the car to see who in the world that was.

"Will!" half of us said, rushing to help him up.

"Where's Jack and Ana and Elizabeth?" Erica asked from his right.

"Ow, my head," he moaned.

"Oh, sorry," Erica said.

"Will, where are they?" I asked anxiously.

"Jack and Elizabeth were right behind me. "I haven't seen Ana."

I walked away and looked back at the doors on the hotel. People were pouring out of them like a flood. I opened my mouth to scream out fro Ana, but then a hand covered my mouth and pulled me into a shadowed part of the parking lot. Then the hand lifted. Norrington was looking at me intensely, and I was nothing but scared at that moment.

"Stealing is not nice, Miss Swann."

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Yay! The negligent fanfiction author/ student director has finally updated!

Party at my house for my birthday on March 1st! The day before opening night!

Jack: Why invite 'em? They'd just drink all me rum.

And…?

Jack: I don't think I need to say anything else.

Then don't.

Jack: _muffled grunts of frustration_

Please Review!


	25. Ceremony?

(A/N – Oi! Oh! Let's go! LoL… Man, this sucks. I love being student director, but I have absolutely no – time at all anymore. Well, now I do since the shows are over. It's so sad, though. Only downside. I can't wait til next year. If you'd all like to see pictures from the musical and what we've all done, go to and type'CAHSWiz06' in the search box. I still have the performance and cast party pics to put up, too, so check back for those! And for the pictures I take during everyday life, type 'BlackGrace' in the search box. I love you guys! Last few days were awesome and I love all my musical ppl forever!)

Free as a bird, Reviewers!

x) Sentinel Sparrow - No one's gonna die... LoL. But it would add a rather interesting twist... I'm just kidding! Jerry the doorman is fine! He's okay! Haha.. I really hope you like this chapter because there is a huge twist at the bottom (without killing someone)! Thanks for the review and I hope you really enjoy the chapter. It's a nice long one - four more pages than I usually write!

x) Norma Jean - Well tell your best friend she's awesome! LoL. Sadly yes, this story has taken over a year to write mainly because for the summer months I neglected this to work and I lost time with musical, so all in all, it was worth the wait I think. And yes, huzzah for the Steelers because THEY ROCK. LoL. OUT LOUD. I love it! Well, the next chapter is here, and I'm so excited that I shan't keep you waiting! Thanks for reviewing and enjoy this mucho mucho!

x) wayunlucky13 - I have updated! _big fire and drums while in pose_ Bwaha! LoL. Yes, Norry needs to have some fun, too. I swear that guy never got out in life... but I'm so very glad you liked it and happy _very_ belated birthday, haha! Thanks for reviewing and enjoy this wonderfully long enstallment

x) Kenny - Dude, your turn, lol. By the way, I have a fictionpress, too! Same name, so kudos to us! LoL. Man, I am so excited and sad! This is done and over with after the next two posts, but I get to start on a whole other realm of writing since I'll be posting my LotR story after I write another chapter or two for it. I'd like to have fifteen before I start posting, but I'm only starting thirteen now. But it's okay! Now that musical's over, I have so much time, I don't know what to do with myself, hence the lengthy chapter, haha! Enjoy it and thanks!

.: It's the next best thing to be. :.

**CLE – "My Immortal" by Evanescence**

Whoa man! Disclaimer…

Hoo doggie! Claimer!

_**The biggest and next-to-last chapter, guys! I hope you really like it!**_

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: "Ceremony?"

- Lindsay's PoV (still) -

I stared back at Norrington, the crazy buttwad.

"You're right," I said. "But I didn't steal it. We gave it to you in the first place to _borrow_, so I'm allowed to take it back. We gave you power, and we can take it away (yay, Aladdin, lol)!"

Everything in the background played on as Norrington and I stared at one another for a long minute. I thought we were having a staring contest until he sighed and rolled his eyes like he was asking God for strength not to kill me on the spot.

"Fine," he said. "But you know risks and what will happen."

"I've got two weeks," I said stubbornly. "You just used it this morning."

"There is no speaking to you, is there?" he asked.

"Not really," I said. "Selective hearing is one of my better qualities."

"It suits you," Norrington said sarcastically, not looking at me.

"I take that as a compliment," I said. "Thank you."

He didn't answer me. We began to walk back over to the others where I could see Ana and Jack had finally been found. Erica walked up to me immediately and pulled me aside.

"What was all that about?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said quietly. I looked over at Norrington as I pocketed the ruby, and Erica nodded. She got the idea. "So, what now?"

"We go home, I guess," she said. "And since they will be leaving, how about back to where it all began?"

I smiled at her grimly. We both didn't want to be on the subject. Eventually I nodded and sighed.

"Makes sense," I said.

- Around 6 AM -

The sun wasn't up yet.

But we sure as heck were wide-awake.

It was a silent ride home as we each dreaded the coming of another goodbye – but this one was so final and definite. It was like they were dying or something. I knew there were a few things on everyone's mind: the time was inching closer by the second as we rushed home on the highway, how each of us were going to say our goodbyes, and how we would actually take it. I was already getting teary-eyed thinking about it. It was so depressing.

I looked around the limo. Norrington was sitting up straight like it was all formal and everything. Next to him was Stewie who was staring at the floor blankly, and Kourey and Thomas were nodding off. Will was next to him looking out the window with a disgruntled look on his face and a fist jammed under his chin. To my left, Erica was looking around, too. We smiled at each other but didn't go into conversation. On my right, Paige was mimicking Stewie's blank stare beyond the limits of the floor, Elizabeth was playing with her hands, and Jack and Ana were sleeping. The silence was peaceful for some reason; like it was a period of resolution. The finality of it all wasn't going to sink in for a while, but then again, never did the reality of it quite set in yet…

I didn't want this. I know people say it's better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, but right now I feel like telling those people to shove it. I'm sorry, but I'm sad. Do you like people saying clever little phrases to you when you're on an emotional rampage? No. Me neither. But I will miss them so much. More than they'll ever know. And it's not like we can ever catch up someday at a reunion unless there are more magic rubies floating around the Caribbean.

Boy, wouldn't it be awesome if there were…

But there's not. So we don't got to worry 'bout that.

But then again…

Then again what?

If the rubies are like the medallions and were split up and circulated…

No. No more rubies.

But it's still a very interesting thought…

Eh, true. Can't argue with that.

"Am I to go anywhere else before I return you to the Arvin residence?" The chauffer made us jump back into consciousness, but Kourey went right back to falling asleep. We looked around at each other, and I met eyes with Erica again. She bit her lip in thought before looking over at me and then back at the driver.

"I think we'd like to make one more stop," she said.

- Erica's PoV – 30 minutes later -

We drove passed Lindsay's Dad's house and down to the lower truck-loading gates of the Anchor Hocking Glass Plant just down the road a few turns. The man stopped with a questioning look at us as we filed out. Lindsay and Stewie knew what was going on, but as for the others, they were as clueless and confused as the driver. Once I was out, I made him lower the window on the passanger side so I could talk to him.

"Thanks for the lift," I said. "You'll be sending the bill, right?"

"Yes," he said still looking at me strangely. "It will arrive in a few short days."

"Not too short now," Lindsay laughed from next to me. I laughed with her as we stood up and waved to the limo as it drove off over the rough dirt/ rock road (if you want to call it a road… it's more like a path…). From there, Stewie, Lindsay, and I took the lead in guiding the other eight to our place – That Place. Over terrible terrain and railroad tracks and a forbidden and old rickety railroad bridge we went. We all nervously made our way over the rotting wooden bridge that's over a hundred years old, and that took about twenty minutes alone. Once on the other side, everyone freaked out and congratulated each other on surviving the crossing.

"Calm down, Elizabeth," Jack said. "You act like you're wearing another corset."

"I might as well be," she said, staring back at the bridge angrily before her expression became very exhausted. "Oh, I don't think I'll be able to go back over that," she moaned.

"You won't have to worry about that," I said quietly as she continued to go down the soft, moist dirt bank. The others followed in silence to wherever we were leading them, but there weren't too happy about what I just said, I'll bet you anything.

At the bottom of the bank, we walked next to the river around a short bend until we saw an old building with equally old orange and rusted metal gates in front of us. The gates we still locked, but we just walked around them. In front of us was a nice patch of dirt/ mud/ rock/ tree roots and then the old abandoned water plant stood there. The right side of the building's roof had caved in were gold leaves covered in snow had filled the old rooms were the brick walls still stood. The plant itself was relatively small, but inside it was bigger. It was right next to the river, which made sense. The whole place had dirt and dead leaves strewn through it with patch of snow where the roof was missing. We slipped through the broken door that leaned on the building even though it was clearly labeled not to. But that was seventy years ago. Even though it's still dangerous, we went in. Everyone stood around in surprise.

"You brought us here?" Paige asked skeptically as we walked around two huge (and empty) water-purifying tanks. We walked up the metal staircase to the wooden deck in between them where candle wax and cards were everywhere for past visits in the middle of the night.

"Sure we did," Stewie said. "This place is awesome!"

"It's a bit dirty, too," Norrington commented.

"Well it's old and decrepit," Lindsay said. "And abandoned. What do you want for lower-middle class kids? A palace with safety harnesses and helmets?"

Norrington stayed quiet as I smiled. I walked to the back of the platform and went into another room that was much larger and more open. I climbed up onto a metal plank without a rail and walked steadily over to a knocked-out window that faced the collapsed part of the building. I sat down, and Stewie followed suit, her legs swinging fifteen feet above the ground below. We sat there as the rest of them moved around the hollow remains of the water plant.

"Hey Stewart," I sighed with a grim smile. She returned it sadly, looking at the others as they explored our little haven of destruction for what seemed to be miles below us. Everything seemed slow motion again like it did at the wedding. But I had survived that, so maybe I could survive this, too. Just maybe.

"I don't want to say goodbye," she said quietly. She looked over at Jack and Elizabeth who were moving into the white room. She was on the verge of crying, and I swear if she did it now I was going to start, too. I threw my arm around her and rubbed her shoulder as I heaved a great sigh.

"Things just keep getting better, huh?" I said as if it were truth.

Stewie looked at me and gave a short outburst of laughter before wiping her eyes and smearing her black eyeliner. "Things are always getting better," she said, agreeing to my sarcastic statement.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Yep."

We looked back down and behind us. We could hear them in the white room, so we got up and went back down into the other room, onto the wooden deck, down the stairs, and over the white room. It had white pieces of wall that all of its visitors had signed and defaced with profanity and that. Lindsay had climbed up the short ladder the bedroom, as we liked to call it; it was about four feet high and seven feet off the ground on a big solid platform of wood. In the corner near the doorway was a basket where we left messages every time we came. We'd write down all the memories we'd have in one day in leave them in the small rusting wire basket on the wall, and I saw Lindsay, Paige, Kourey, and Thomas leafing through them when Stewie and I joined them.

"This is so cool," Kourey said. "I'm so glad I finally got to come here."

"So are we," Lindsay said. "We have a short history hear, but the memories are liquid."

"Liquid?" Kourey asked.

"Yeah. They fill any time span. And no matter how many there are, even if the history is overflowing with them, we still hold them close so they don't slip away."

"Because if they did," I added, "we'd never remember them again. They'd be gone forever and only the moment would bring it back. That's also why we keep track of them. So one day we can come back and laugh and remember them all since every single one is precious and special."

Kourey nodded in understanding. He looked over at Will who was standing in front of the broken window facing the river. Jack was under our platform doing something while Ana, Elizabeth, and Norrington read the walls in silence and disgust.

"Awful language," Elizabeth commented.

"Pirate talk!" Jack interjected, coming out from under the platform. "Some of these men I'd put on me crew just for the way they speak! This one I'd have as first mate." He pointed sharply at a name that had appeared numerously in the room and walked on as Elizabeth screwed up her face again.

"I'm sure you would."

"Excuse me, ladies," Will said, turning around now. "But could you tell us why you've brought us here?"

"Aye!" Jack said loudly. "Why are we here?"

"To spend a day with us," I said, getting up and moving to the ledge of the platform. "The last day you'll spend with us."

A wave swept over that room in that instant. Everyone was knocked over by it. But they knew it was coming. Lindsay and Stewie sighed and looked at the floor as the others watched me jump off of the platform. Will, Jack, and Anamaria were quiet, Elizabeth's mouth hung open slightly, Thomas and Paige were trying to find something to say. Norrington shot Lindsay a look but she shot back, and he let down for a moment as I continued to talk.

"I'm sure now is the only time will be the easiest to say goodbye," I said. "Of course it'll never be easy, but right now the string seems to be the thinnest, so we cut it now and let our ends fall."

"Now?" Thomas asked. "Right now?"

"Tonight," Lindsay said. "At eleven o'clock. The same time we all first met and our worlds came together." I nodded in Thomas's direction to confirm it.

"It was then that we were brought together, and it will be then that we part," I said quietly. "It's only appropriate. We're going to stay here today because we can remain undisturbed until nighttime when we will start our little goodbye ceremony thing."

"Ceremony?" Norrington asked with some amusement present in his voice. "Here?"

"Yep," I said. "Candles, special items exchanged, singing…"

"That's no ceremony," he said. "That's just some… some hubbub or whatnot…"

"No," Lindsay said. "Ceremony is our fancy way of throwing a party. It's a little more calmer than our other get-togethers, but still a party it is."

"I will attend no party of yours," Norrington said sourly.

"Then you will not return to Port Royal," Lindsay said, taking out the ruby and shaking it front of him. His face twisted more as he silently agreed to join us as he leaned against the wall in frustration. Lindsay put the ruby back in her dress with a satisfied smile.

"Party? With rum?" asked Jack hopefully. Us teenagers laughed.

"If you can find it," Lindsay said. "There's supposed to be some stashed around here somewhere, but we've never found it. Our stash is somewhere else. I'll go get it."

"Today we feast and party and sing yo ho!" I shouted happily. "Huzzah!" And like good little pirate friends, they all shouted back with a hearty "HUZZAH!"

- 10:45 PM – The Remains of The Last Hour -

All day we were in and around That Place reminiscing and laughing and eating and singing yo ho so much we were singing it subconsciously and could still hear it echoing throughout the place. Norrington was a party pooper most of the time until it got dark and we started setting up for the ceremony party of the party. He said that if we wanted it to be half decent, we'd need his help, so we let him help and suggest, but we didn't listen to him, haha.

We told Elizabeth about her father being found, and that really made her happy and anxious to go home. She helped us set up a circle of candles on the wooden deck, and we sat a tall white one in the center. In the ring of candles we all sat, surrounding the large white one. On either side of the white candle was a tall, thin blue one not lit yet.

This was how we began our ceremony.

"Friends, we are here to honor the friendships that withstood four centuries of differences and a lot of nonsense," I said in a very serious voice. "Tonight we close the gap but keep the friendships between Pirates and Littles. Will the Pirates please lift their candle."

Jack leaned forward, taking one of the blue candles. I nodded and continued.

"Will the Littles please lift their candle."

Stewie picked up the other blue candle and held it.

"Now, both of you will take from the center candle the light necessary to keep the memories of one another brilliant and undying."

Jack and Stewie put their candlewicks together and lowered them into the flame of the white candle. A second later they lifted them and pulled them apart, a flame shining brightly on each of their blue candlesticks.

"Please bind your memories as we recite the Code of the Last Hour."

Jack and Jess linked their arms over the white candle as I spoke.

"Memories are now bound forever, they will withstand the test of time; no matter what changes in our lives, we will always remember this rhyme; the hours we shared will remain untouched, the laughter we shared will sound forever; time is not our keeper, so long as our hearts are with each other."

They unlinked their arms. Now came the best part.

NOT.

I gave a heavy sigh.

"Let us rise."

We all stood slowly, tears shining on most of the faces the candlelight reached. I went on.

"Now that our memories are secure and our pledge has been honored to withstand time, we must close the gap with the Ruby of Passage (yeah, we gave it a title… it deserved one…). Pirates please step to the right and Littles to the left according to your time of origin."

Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Ana, Norrington (who did not like being clissifed as a Pirate), Thomas, and Paige stepped to the right, and Lindsay, Stewie, and I stepped to the left. Kourey stepped aside and watched, intrigued by it all.

"Now we say goodbye," I said emotionally. My throat got tight as I spoke and my eyes began to well up. I sniffed once before we exchanged our last hugs and best wishes.

"Tell your father we said hello," Lindsay told Elizabeth as they hugged.

Will was just holding Stewie as she cried all over him, and I hugged Jack for the last time, taking in all of his scent so that I'd never forget it the moment we embraced.

"I'll miss you so much," I said immediately.

"Me, too, lassie," he said. "Just remember who ye are."

I nodded in his shoulder and sniffed again. He held me away from him and looked me over proudly, and I smiled ear to ear with tears still running down my face. I wiped them away, though, and Jack tugged on the wooden tooth around my neck with a wink. I giggled.

"Don't ye ever forget."

"I won't," I said. "Take care of Paige, too."

Jack smiled fondly over at her. I smiled, too. So that's how Jack looks at me… He looked back over at me and nodded.

"She'll be a damn good'n on the ocean once I retire," he said. "And maybe I'll get Arielle te be her first mate someday. Ye think that'll go over well with Elizabeth?"

I laughed. "I don't know," I said honestly. "Just take care of yourself, Jack Sparrow. If I look you up in a history book, I want to see that you scared the hell out of everyone and lived to be a hundred and twenty."

"Oh, much longer than that, luv, much longer than that!"

I laughed with him again.

"Good luck to you and Ana," I said. He didn't reply for a minute but looked at me in bewilderment. I was getting scared he was still mad, but what he said changed my mind.

"Ye know, Isabelle was a darling young woman. Make sure that if she doesn't get to come visit us in the Caribbean sometime that she marries a very fine gentlemen with a pirate's smile."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I said.

"Good."

At that, we returned to our separate sides of the white candle in semicircles inside the ring of other candles. Everyone was wiping their eyes who had been crying, and I looked at my indiglo watch.

One minute.

I swallowed hard and looked at Lindsay and Jessica.

Here it goes.

"We will now go our separate ways physically but never emotionally or mentally," I said. "Little Bloody Jane Swann, the Ruby of Passage, please."

Lindsay took the ruby from her dress and handed it to Jack silently. He gripped it so hard I thought he might break it considering how small it had become. I stared at his hand a moment before continuing.

"Pirates, please link arms and stand together."

They did so.

"Now we part," I said. "In three counts, may this gap close and…"

Damn, this was so hard…

"…and never be opened again," I choked out. "Pirates, please count."

We all shut our eyes, not wanting to see them go.

"One-"

"Two-"

"Three."

When they counted one, I felt a huge force pulling my insides tightly and painfully. Then when I heard two, I was confused. I shouldn't be hearing them count passed one because two means they're traveling! And the pain was making me sick now. My head was pounding and my chest was tight and I couldn't breath or hear anything properly. Memories of the past year and a half were flying through my head faster than I could think to keep up accompanied by snippets of words and laughter and yelling from all the things we had done together.

"We're gonna have so much fun this summer…" 

_PUMF_

"Who are these people!" 

"_Captain Jack Sparrow…"_

"_Maybe we'll wake up and this'll be a dream..."  
"What! No rum!"  
"Don't attack the squirrel!"_

"_Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me!"_

BOINK 

"_REVENGE!"_

"_Then, the squirrel smiled menacingly, as if to sing the Little Mermaid theme song.,."_

"_I wish I could just flush you!"_

"That grody thing! He told me he had a Viper!" 

"_Pirate... yeah, right..."_

"_Can I have an autograph?"_

"_Orlando Bloom!"_

"_Abandon ship!"_

"_It's Bennington, not Norrington..."_

"_The ruby…"_

"_Dungbie equals butt! THEY'RE SYNONYMS!"_

"_Jonah and the Whale..."_

"_Very funny, Elizabeth…"_

_"Story? As in bedtime?"_

"Gleeglespaw…" 

"_There's no suckin' happenin'!"_

"_This isn't Gilligan's Island!"_

_"Murtogg and Mullroy…"_

_"You knew Bootstrap Bill?"_

_SMACK!_

"_I changed my name…"_

"_We're immortal…"_

_"Don't make me shoot ye..."_

_"Hypothetically of course…"_

"_That'd be my ship…"_

"_Little Sparrow…"_

"_I tipped the rowboat…"_

"_Nobody's coming…"_

"_Little Swann…"_

"_That's not the plan…"_

"_Little Turner…"_

"_Shminky?"_

"_Please… you can't…"_

"_He… he has none…"_

"You know, I believe a Letter of Marque should be in order here…" 

"_Don't you miss home, Stewy?"_

"_Missed ye, Grace…"_

"_Evil French gits…"_

"_This is hopeless…"_

"_Can I help you?"_

"_Captain Jack Sparrow at your service…"_

"_Oh, just do it…"_

"_The decorations are not the only beautiful things here tonight…"_

"_Jack just proposed to me…"_

"_We can try to split them up…"_

"_Turn on the radio!"_

"_We love you, too, Noah…"_

"_Crazy is our specialty…"_

"_We're goin' DOWN DOWN in an earlier round-!"_

"_One…"_

"_It's too overrun with the other crew!"_

"_Come on, guys!"_

"_Two…"_

"_That's your purse?"_

"_Change… isn't always bad, darling…"_

"_One… two…"_

"_What about the code?"_

"_Get behind Marietta!"_

"_Since when do pirates fall in love?"_

"_One…"_

""_How was that for a diversion?"_

"_Two…"_

"_Some party, huh?"_

"_ELIZABOTH!"_

"_Don't ye ever forget…"_

"_Three."_

"_I won't…"_

And when I heard three, all the pain stopped. But I was so exhausted, I just collapsed into darkness, no memory of even hitting the floor. All I remember was falling.

X X X

Then I came to sometime later. I had a terrible headache. I must have hit my head hard or maybe someone found us and I'm at the hospital…

Oh, did Jack and the others get back?

What about Lindsay and Stewie?

"Oh, my head…"

I sat up slowly and painfully with my eyes still shut. The smell of my surroundings was familiar, but it wasn't of the water plant. I was sitting on something soft, and I was comfortable. I felt a blanket over my legs and I was a bit flush; I could feel it in my face. I took a few deep breaths and felt someone move next to me. I turned my head and opened my eyes, and the other person did the same.

I flipped out.

And so did Lindsay.

We screamed before we did anything else.

There she was in front of me wearing her glasses the same way she used to when we first met three years ago. Her hair was brown – no other shade of purple or orangey-brown as it was before. She wasn't wearing black, either! She was wearing her old plaid pajama bottoms and grey tank top. She looked a lot younger, and then I looked at myself.

My hair was dark brown again. I didn't have one highlight at all in it. My hands looked smaller, and my hair was shorter without layers. I was wearing pajamas, too, and then Lindsay and I both made the observation that we were more flat chested than when we were knocked out. All over we were younger!

Then we looked around. We were in her Grandma's living room! On the old air mattress! We looked up at the clock on the wall in panic – it read 8:57 PM. Bowls of food surrounded us along with movies, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets just finishing up on the television. Then we stared at each other in disbelief.

No – way.

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GASP…

Well, the next chapter is the last, everyone, but there's an epilogue, too! And don't worry… I will be writing little things about us aside from this. It'll be like fan fiction for my own fan fiction! LoL. I love you all so much! Jack, too!

Please Review!


	26. For better and worse

(A/N – Oh my, this is the last chapter. I am seriously gonna cry. It has been an amazing two years of writing this series, and now that me, Lindsay, and Stewie look back on this, we all are gonna laugh and remember all the little inside jokes and keep it with us always. I write this not only for fun, but as something for all three of us to stay connected with; in the years that'll come between us for college and stuff, we can always look back and say that this was our adventure and our story of growing up with huge amounts of exaggeration and fun. I wrote this because the friendship between us is unbelievably strong, and I wouldn't want to have an adventure with pirates with any other two people than them. I love you two so much, and we are sisters, even if we can't finish each other's sentences or read each other's mind all the time. We still laugh together, support one another, and have undying unconditional love for one another – and that is the best thing I have ever felt or had or known. Just to be with you is awesome, even if we don't have pirates with us. But honestly, nothing will ever take away my love for you two. Even though we are three very different people with three very different sets of beliefs wo occasionally screw up big time, we have three hearts that beat the same and are bound forever with love, and now, this story.)

**To me hearties with whom all the best – and worst – stuff happens; this was for you. **

**_Love ya Lindz and Jess. _**

Don't cry, Reviewers!

x) Norma Jean - Oddness! I've never seen A Beautiful Mand but have seen Aladdin a thousand times since I got for Christmas when I was three, lol. Ah, yes, strange imagination, but a gift (if that's what you want to call it) that I intend not to waste, but to give to the world. Thanks for the review and ebjoy these last few!

x) Sentinel Sparrow - Hey! It's okay! There may be another whole chapter after this one! I had to shorten this one because it was like three pages too long, lol. So yeah, it's alright. There will be more. So smile! Jack loves you! lol. Thanks!

x) Kenny - I saw what Kitty put up, so you _better_ continue it! LoL... not a threat, but a promise. I intend to smite you if you don't, haha. Thanks for the dots! Enjoy!

.: It's okay:.

**CLE – "Mad World" by Gary Jules**

Disclaimers…

Claimers…

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: "For better and worse."

I was panicking.

I looked at Lindsay who was pretty much my reflection at the moment – both of our mouths hung open in fear and disbelief, and our eyes were bigger than I had ever recalled. Both of us were breathing rapidly with hearts beating three times faster than that; I wanted to faint.

"Lindsay?" I asked weakly, my voice struggling to sound.

"Y-yeah?" She had trouble speaking as well.

"Um… what just happened?"

"I have an idea," she said, looking around, "but I hope I'm wrong."

Our eyes met again, and we immediately leapt to our feet and clambered off of the air mattress tangled in the blankets. We ripped them away from ourselves and ran eight feet to Lindsay's old bedroom door. We slammed against it, having trouble opening it, and then Lindsay finally got the doorknob to turn. We pushed against it and almost fell into the room, but rather, we stumbled.

When we stood up in the doorway, we were astonished, but we had half expected it. This room – it was hers again. All the wallpaper was still up, and her bed was tussled around in the middle of her room as if we had just been jumping on it a few hours ago. Bright clothes were in a pile next to her old clothes chest, and the light was bright. It shown over everything, making it even more realistic.

"This is impossible," Lindsay panted. "This is Justin's room now! He took it after I moved in with my dad last year and he…" Lindsay trailed off after her voice gave out. She tried to read the calendar on the opposite wall, but she couldn't.

Both of us were afraid to go in, though; if we went in and the floor didn't disappear from beneath us, it would be finalized. For once, we were hoping that it wasn't her room that was in front of us. We were hoping for a hologram or something.

"Isn't there another one in the kitchen?" I asked, looking over at her. She swallowed hard before nodding her head in response.

"There should be if we're where we think we are."

We moved back towards the living room, leaving her bedroom door ajar. She stopped and looked up at the clock again as it chimed nine o'clock. I looked, too. Nine o'clock at night in Lindsay's Grandma's house, a year and a half younger, praying that what we're thinking isn't true or real. As I looked over at Lindsay, she had determination and anger mixed on her face as she tore her eyes away from the clock and proceeded cautiously into the kitchen.

The table was still in the middle of the room with open bags and boxes of food we had left lie out that night of the sleepover. The kitchen was it's old self, not the one that had recently been remodeled after Lindsay had moved out. We wandered in absentmindedly, staring at everything in shock.

"This is all wrong," I finally managed to say. "If this isn't a dream, I don't get it. I still remember everything from before and…"

"I do, too," Lindsay said with a long sigh.

"It's weird… almost like… we're getting a second chance."

Lindsay didn't comment as she went over to the phone on the wall and grabbed it. She began dialing a number, and I went up to her.

"Who are you calling?"

"Stewart," she replied.

"You can't," I said, putting my hand over the receiver.

"Why not?"

"Because she's still visiting her relatives in Uniontown, remember? She won't be back until tomorrow."

Then she erased the number and began to dial another.

"Now who are you calling?"

"Kourey."

"With a 'K'?"

"Yep."

"You can't!"

"Why not!"

"Because we don't meet him for another thirteen months," I said evenly as we stared at each other. "He won't know who you are. No one does. John doesn't know you, Steve doesn't know you, Nate doesn't know you, I'm not good friends with Josh yet, and we've never even met Vicky or been to her house!"

I grabbed Lindsay's shoulders because both of us were becoming unstable at these thoughts.

"So we're back," she said searchingly. "We're back to the night of our sleepover."

"The night we met," I added in acknowledgement in reference to the pirates. "It's about two hours until we met," I said, motioning to the stove's dim glowing clock. "And this just proves that this isn't a dream. We remember it all."

"That's not a dream, it's a nightmare," Lindsay said. "Maybe we have to do something different," she suggested. "Like be prepared to meet them this time."

"I don't think so," I said sadly. "I think we're just being put back."

"But we still remember everything!" Lindsay said in a high voice. "We remember everyone, all the mistakes, all the things that happened!"

"I know. Weird, huh?" I asked quietly.

"Do you think Stewie will remember, too?"

"Possibly."

"Then why wouldn't Kourey or anyone else?"

"I don't know! Maybe because they didn't discover the pirates, rather they were introduced to them," I threw out as a theory.

"Well then if that's the case, Stewie wouldn't remember," Lindsay said. "We introduced her to them. Remember?"

"Well that'll suck," I muttered. "We remember and she won't?"

"Think of all the advice we could give her, though," Lindsay said. "We could be like oracles or something. Help her pass, you know."

"We could change our futures," I said seriously. "For better and worse."

"But… this is just crazy."

"I know. I think we should take a walk."

Lindsay looked at me for a moment before hanging the phone back up and leaving out a long, withheld sigh. "Yeah, I could use some fresh air to clear my head even though it won't help much," she said. "Grab you coat and come on. My grandma's back in hour though, don't forget."

- At the Playground – 9:10 PM -

The two of us together walked down Pittsburgh Street and turned into Sullivan Alley where Stewie's house was. No one was home, not even one of her eleven siblings. Of course, she's the youngest and most had moved out, so go figure… Anyways, her house was dark, and we continued walking to the playground. We looked it over, trying to accept this fact of the walking path not being there now and that a few things were older and still not painted. We walked behind the bathrooms and tennis court along a row of trees until we stopped at the last one – Tree De Little.

Lindsay and I stared at it in silence for a while in thought. It was just killing me that we knew everything that would happen in this place in the next year and a half and no one else would. What was worse, we didn't have the evidence to prove anything.

"Stewie and I won't sit in this tree and christen it for another two months," I said without emotion. It was like a sad statement, maybe. I sighed. "I shouldn't know this stuff," I said with my chest tightening.

"I know," Lindsay said.

We stood there and stared at for a few moments until Lindsay read my mind and began walking around to the other side of the tree. She began to climb up it, and I followed with a small smile; we may not always be able to read each other's minds, but when we can, it's pretty cool what we're thinking.

We climbed up into the tree in silence, Lindsay stopping at her branch and allowing me to pass to mine. I sat and watched my hand run along the wood slowly so that I could feel it. It felt real and was real, but it had a different sense to it you might say. Like a vibe of some sort. Lindsay and I looked at each other, and then I looked up at the moon through the little leafy canopy above my left shoulder.

"I don't know…" I turned back to Lindsay who was looking at her hands as she struggled to find the words to say something. I listened as she continued.

"Don't know what?" I asked.

"I just… how? I mean, is there a purpose to all this?" she asked carefully. "Like other than us just reliving our lives without the pirates?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I haven't a clue."

"There's so much now that we can avoid and prevent and change," Lindsay said as if in a trance of realization. "We know when things will happen and what will happen if, say we didn't get back in time to the house after sneaking out at a sleepover," she said.

"Yeah, like the one where the cops came to at your mom's," I said. "We'll know to avoid that now."

"And the guys!" she added. "All the crazy dips I went out with… I can just turn my cheek and walk the other way now." I nodded. Good logic behind that.

"And tests and conflicts in our lives," I added as well. "We can change it all, but it may change who we are a year and a half from now." I looked Lindsay in the eye. "We may not be the same people we were. We will _not _be the same people we were. Knowing what we do is bound to change something whether we like it or not."

"For better and worse," Lindsay said with a lopsided smile. I did the same, thinking of how different I might be in the next year and a half. I could be more helpful and avoid the situations that put so much stress on me. I could work on my voice and get into the better school choir, get some piano lessons, build my guard up against the guy I hate to crush on (come on, we all have 'em…)… It was so much.

So much change.

_"Change… isn't always bad, darling…"_

I smiled as a lowered my head and thought back to that conversation I had with Jack in the church. I absentmindedly reached for my upper chest to toy with my wooden tooth and it's black cord, and after my mind told me not to be silly that it couldn't possibly be there, it was proven wrong.

My wooden tooth was still around my neck.

My mouth dropped open slightly a moment as I clutched it tightly, squeezing it for a reality check. I started to breathe faster and looked up at Lindsay.

"Lindsay."

"What?" she asked quietly.

I smiled slowly and held out my tooth, but she could barely make out what I was doing. "Check your neck," I said weakly as I still couldn't fathom this yet myself.

Lindsay patted around her neck quickly a few times before stopping with the same surprised face I wore. She pulled a silver chain out of her pajama shirt and with it came Elizabeth's silver locket. I sat up with a bewildered smile, not believing all of this. Lindsay looked from it to me, and the two of us began laughing.

"You have your tooth?" she asked.

I nodded. "Sure do."

Lindsay fell back against her branch. "Then it really did happen," she said. "All of it. We aren't just dreaming."

"Lindsay, nobody dreams in that much clarity or detail," I said.

"I know, but it was my first thought," she said. "What else could I think? But now this proves it. We did meet them and live the past year and a half. Hell, Erica… we went to the seventeenth century Caribbean and were pirates!"

"Oh my god we were…" I said breathlessly. I stared at her. "This is too much!"

"I know!" she said. "But it's all the comfort we'll ever need, these little pendants. They keep us… in touch with our inner pirate." I smiled t her. I truly, deeply, love my friends. They are so awesome sometimes.

"And our outer one, too," I said. "Don't forget about him."

"Course not!" Lindsay said as we laughed. When we fell silent, I cleared my throat some as the nighttime bugs and bats made their music.

"Want to head back now?" I asked. "Your grandma will be there soon."

"Yeah, okay," Lindsay, said. So solemnly we descended from the tree and stared at it again for a minute. Lindsay noticed that our X made from silly string wasn't there.

"And it won't be for another six months," I added.

"Well then we'll cure that tomorrow," she said as we turned to go. "See ya, Tree." She saluted it, and we turned around and began walking slowly back across the playground to the back hill, the shortest way to get back to her grandma's.

"You know, I don't know what to think," Lindsay said as we tromped across the small, dark softball field. "Wouldn't everyone who met the pirates remember everything? How come it'd just be me and you, or Stewie, too?"

"Well, the three of us are Littles," I said.

"But then wouldn't Paige remember, too?"

My face fell. "I don't know… if she does, I wonder if that'll mess up anything with Becca back in the Caribbean?"

"Oh my god, that's right!" Lindsay said, spinning to a stop. "Things could go totally wrong and Jack could get killed and-!"

"Breathe!" I shouted. "Don't go thinking all of that. It doesn't matter now anyways, we're never going to see any of them again, so let's just go home and do what most people would kill to," I said quietly.

"What?"

"Get a second chance."

- Back at Lindsay's Grandma's – 9:59 PM -

We sat down on the air mattress as her grandma pulled into the driveway. Lindsay picked up the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD case and looked at it. I had a feeling she didn't really want to watch it. Deep down, my feelings were the same. It would just be depressing.

When her grandma came up on the deck to the sliding glass door in front of us and opened the door, we looked up with calm, ordinary expressions. Her grandma's smile faded a little.

"Well what the matter with you two?" she asked. "Getting tired all ready?"

"No, just deciding what to do next," Lindsay said leaving the double meaning open. She looked away from her grandma, and I did, too.

"So, Lindsay, you'll be going to Erica's for the next month, right?" she asked.

"All of July, yep," Lindsay confirmed.

"And when are you leaving here?"

"Before dinnertime tomorrow sometime."

"Alright. Just make sure I have a phone number to reach you at if I have to, and don't forget anything."

"I won't."

Lindsay's grandma left the room with a nod as she went through the kitchen to her bedroom on the other end of the house. Lindsay and I looked at each other sullenly with our eyes and bodies more tired than we had yet come to realize. It would hit us sometime soon, though, we figured.

"Do you want to watch it?" I ventured, looking at the DVD. Lindsay held it with both of her hands a moment before shaking her head.

"Not really," she said. I nodded in silence.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I dunno. What can we do?"

"Cards?"

_"Ha! Royal flush! Beat that!" Lindsay said triumphantly as she laid her cards on the table. Jack leaned back into the seat, and gave a disappointed smile.  
__  
"Ah, ye' win," Jack said, "Beginner's luck." _

Lindsay quickly shook her head. "No," she said. "Not now."

I nodded again. "Pizza?" I tried. "Maybe some food would-"

_"Who's up for pizza?" Shouts rang out around the living room. _

"Pepperoni!"

"Uh... what's a pizza?"

"Can we get more rum in here?"

"No, no," Lindsay said again.

"Okay… how about we pack some of your things for a bit? You still haven't yet… and we can listen to some music or something while we do it."

Lindsay didn't shake her head this time. Instead, she gave a lopsided expression and a sigh. "Sure, I guess," she said. "Let's go."

We got up and went inside Lindsay's room. I went over to her old CD player on the dresser and saw the old case of CDs lying there right next to it. I was trembling; this wasn't right. I dismissed my feelings for the umpteenth time however and looked inside the CD case as Lindsay got a huge duffle bag out from underneath her bed. I opened it and flipped passed a few burned CDs and the Good Charlotte one her brother would be smashing here in about a month because he threw it at a wall or something…

Then I stopped.

I saw the Linkin Park CDs.

Memories flooded back into the walls of my mind. I didn't like it one bit, but they came. They were crystal clear.

_"Where did you get cymbals?" _

_"Weird group of men in the next room," Will said. "Very odd drums and junk…" _

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK _

_"Who's there?" Jessica asked with her ear to the door. _

"Uh... we lost some cymbals and wanted to know if you'd seen _them or not," a voice said. A familiar voice... "You might know us – Chester, Rob, and Mike? We're from this band called Linkin Park, and –" _

_"Where's Hol- LINKIN PARK!" _

CRASH

I swallowed a lump in my throat and closed my eyes. I could envision myself standing right in that hotel room again. Then I opened my eyes again after reliving fantasy for a moment and decided that maybe this was not the best thing to play right now. It may have been one of our favorite bands at the time, but I put a burned CD in the CD player instead as I went over to Lindsay to help her pack some more.

After ten minutes, Lindsay' grandma came into the room ready to go to work at the hospital. We looked up only for a second before folding the last of her clothes and placing them in the bag.

"Oh, packing, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lindsay replied quietly. I sighed. Normally, Lindsay would've said something like 'No, we're doing the Macarena backwards in Polish just for the heck of it.' I knew I'd get the old Lindsay back after this trauma passed, but I wish I knew when.

"All right. Well, get to bed at a decent hour and have fun," her grandma said, putting her hand on the doorknob. "You left the phone number for me?"

"Out on the phone list on the fridge," she replied. "I put it there forever ago."

"Okay. I'll be calling."

"Alright."

"Bye, girls."

"Bye," we chorused as her grandma waved to us before leaving the room. We heard her leave through the glass door in the living room and then began packing things like CDs and books and bathroom things for her. We worked mostly in silence, wheels turning in our head of contemplation and confusion and wonder.

Things could not possibly be this way even if they are.

They just couldn't be.

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A transitional chapter, but the next part is the most transitional. You guys just might get lucky with another chapter, but if not, there's always an epilogue. I guess you'll find out in the next update if it's the last or second to last. Regardless, you were all so awesome! Stick around! BTW, 'I Love This Song' will be updated shortly, too. Look for that.

Please Review!


	27. They're back?

(A/N – Wow, I think this is the epilogue. It's kind of cool, too. I hope you all like it while I scramble to get ready. I have to go see a show in Norwin today! They did Wizard of Oz for their musical, too, so I must go spy, lol. But while I'm on duty, enjoy the chapter. I love you all! You have done so much for my writing and my morale. I thank you a thousand times over. And don't you dare forget about my Ronie and Val series and that I'll be making little short stories based on this whole series, lol. I think I'm gonna call it The Little Chronicles. Do you think it suits? Well, I have to get cracking now. Thanks!)

My most humble and benevolent Reviewers…

x) Sentinel Sparrow - I'm sorry I ruined you life, lol. Just kidding... I do hope that this cute little epilogue makes a nice ending for you, because I love it. Enjoy it! Thank you for all the time and encouragement; it's all been appreciated a hundred times over. I know I have a totally devoted fan in you which I can not thank you for enough. Love you! Thanks and enjoy the final update! I'll see you in my other stories!

x) Norma Jean - Last chapter for you! I hope you like it as you have everything else, and thank you so much for your patronage to my works. What would I do with out you? Haha... Thanks again and I hope to see you in my other stories!

x) Kenny - Sorry, no MySpace, lol. And I'm sorry I almost made you cry, but Lindsay and Stewie are like my sisters and I had to remind them of that, haha. Right now, they are sort of at it, and I blame the absence of my wooden tooth which has somehow mysteriously disappeared three days ago... The hunt will continue after this, lol. I'll find it! I promise! I'm so thankful that you and Kitty supported me and that I have found great friends in you two. Update your story soon, and look for my LotR to be up tomorrow! I know you'll be there! Thanks for everything, and enjoy the epilogue.

.: Don't be sad,get Glad! LoL... At least this whole adventure happened. What would your lives be like if you never read this story? Maybe not a lot would have changed, but I bet something did! I'm so glad that you all supported me in writing this. I had so much fun. I not only wrote this for Lindsay, Jessica, and me, but you guys, too. You compelled me to write when I'd be going through difficulties in life, so I commend you. Thanks for _everything_. I know in writing, you can't really read a person's emotion, but that's because you can't put it into words. And that's what I love a bout it. It's just something you have to feel. Do _you_ feel _me? _:.

**CLE – "Moving On" by Good Charlotte**

My last disclaimer for this…

My last claimer for this…

BUT NOT THE END OF THEM, I'M SURE.

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EPILOGUE: "They're back?"

- 11:00 PM -

"Did you want to maybe get some rest now?" I asked.

"Sure," Lindsay said, dropping her last bag on the pile of stuff inside her doorway. "I'm tired."

"Me, too."

So we went out to the living room and sat on the air mattress. Lindsay got up quickly to turn off the light next to the armchair when she paused a moment, looking at the floor. I watched her a moment as one hand was on the lamp knob and the other slowly began to creep around the chair and down between it and the wall. She winced with some difficulty of retrieving whatever it was, and she about had it out when a crash came from the kitchen.

Yes, a crash.

Both of our heads spun faster than probably was healthy for them, but it was a big shock. We looked at each other, blood rushing.

'They're back?' I could almost hear Lindsay thinking.

My mind reeled as I looked at the kitchen doorway. I didn't want to go in there. I wanted them to come out. I wanted to see them and tell us that everything was okay. I wanted reassured. But more than anything, I wanted to see them again.

More little crashes came as Lindsay and I sat (or stood) frozen with eyes fixed on the doorway of the kitchen. I was about to stand up when the footsteps got closer. Instead of standing, I leaned back a bit in fear of some ugly surprise or trick. 'This could still be a dream,' I remembered thinking. Not a breath passed through either of our lips or noses as the final footsteps reached the doorway. I leaned back, but instead of three pirates walking into the room, in stumbled Stewie.

Wonderful Stewie! With no black on either! And her little pigtail bobs were still on top of her head. And her hair was a faded reddish color again instead of jet black. She looked at Lindsay and me with a small smile and held out her little sun pendant for us to see even with her feet stuck in pots and a fork in her hair.

I smiled gratefully with tears coming to my eyes as I leapt from the air mattress and ran to her. Lindsay was coming full speed, too, and at the same time, we collided with her in a fit of happy and mournful cry.

"Oh, gosh, Stewie, it's you again!" I said. "It's you!"

"How did you get here?" Lindsay asked as we separated a little. "You were in-"

"I made my mom bring me out right away," she said with a smeary face and huge smile. "I had to see if it was true! And it is… we're back. This isn't a dream."

"No it's not, Stewart," I said with a grim smile. "But it sure was one heck of a trip."

"Not over yet," Lindsay said as she walked back over to the armchair. He hand slid down between it and the wall again, and with one tug, she revealed an old, aged glass bottle. It was corked and gross looking, but upon squinting at it for two seconds, I saw a piece of old paper in it. A piece of parchment.

We _stared_ at each other.

"Was that… ever there before?" I asked breathlessly.

Lindsay shook her head so slightly I had to rethink it over to see if she really had. "No."

Immediately we sat on the air mattress as Lindsay ripped the cork out and tried to get the message into her hand by shaking the bottle upside down. Some sand poured out at that point, and she stopped, and we stared some more. What had we discovered?

She continued shaking until the end of a very old piece of paper appeared in the palm of her hand in a roll. We were getting hot from all the excitement and possibilities that lay inside that little roll of paper. We leaned in as she took it out, setting the bottle on the mattress gently. Then she slowly began to unroll it until she began too impatient and increased her speed to the point that she almost ripped it. We sat with our faces touching cheek to cheek as small faded words became visible on the parchment. We laughed in disbelief.

Especially when we saw it was address to us.

"Read it, Lindsay," I barely managed to saw. She nodded quickly and cleared her throat before beginning.

'_Dearest Littles Sparrow, Turner, and Swann,_

_I hope ye get to read this before ye're too old to remember what has happened. It's Jack, lassies, it's me. Remember me?'_

Lindsay stopped and laughed before she continued.

_'I am fine now. A few years older you might say since our departure. Will and Elizabeth have aged themselves as well, but little Arielle and Charlotte have grown into fine young women to help around the smithy shop.'_

"Charlotte?" Stewie asked.

"They must've had another daughter," I said. "It's sounds like Jack's a lot older when he wrote this. Maybe in his… last few years," I dared to say. An uncomfortable feeling came over us until Lindsay continued.

_'Me own have been helpin' round deck, too. Daniel, Robert, and Anne have been quite the model of crew workmanship. They do everything ten times better than the others, even in their early twenties and at nineteen.'_

"Dang," I said. "He was getting older."

"You think his oldest was twenty-some, maybe twenty-two, twenty-three, Arielle was at least a year ad a half older," Lindsay said. "But that's only if Ana and him had Daniel right after they were married."

"How do you know Daniel's the oldest?" Stewie asked.

"We don't," I said. "But that's usually how names are listed of children in a family – oldest to youngest."

"Oooh… so that's why my name was always the last on every Christmas card Mom mailed out."

"Probably," I said.

"Shh! Let me finish!" Lindsay said.

"Okay, read!"

_'I wish you could see them now. They are really wonderful. Arielle and Charlotte have even joined crew for a few months at a time when Will and Elizabeth have been feeling up to a journey. Paige and Thomas still remain loyal to me crew as well as they begin to climb in their years, not to mention to each other. They were betrothed and wed about seven years after we departed. And they even have a little one now who likes to run ramped and drive me up a wall. Ten year olds are like that, though, I guess.'_

"What!"

"Oh, come on, Lindsay," I said. "You were never gonna marry Thomas anyway."

"Yeah, whatever…" she said with a little jealousy. "He's still my man."

"But they're perfect together!" Stewie said.

"Yeah, I'll give 'em that," Lindsay said.

"Did he say whether it was a boy or girl?" I asked.

"Nope," Lindsay replied. "Maybe if we read on."

_'Aye, I think we have our next generation of the Pearl is finally set, but I plan not to go anywhere for a while, mind ye. But the Governor did pass a few years ago on Charlotte's seventeenth year, which was sad for us all.'_

We all frowned and sat there a brief moment before continuing. That was a little depressing…

'_The new governor isn't too bad – he lets Will and Elizabeth stay in the house they had built up the coast, and he sort of likes me thanks to something Norrington might have said. I still don't like the man whole-heartedly, but he's not that bad I suppose. We joined forces on the Rebecca thing, but I still refuse to get a Letter of Marquee. But I think the only reason the new governor lets me do whatever I want is because Norrington told him to consider me a privateer or something. I'm still investigating that, however.'_

We giggled. Good ol' Jack…

'_By the way, we've learned a few things about the ruby, including that after its final use, its keepers get put back to where they came from before they were associated with it.'_

"We know," Lindsay, said loudly as if Jack were on the piece of paper and could hear us clearly. Stewie and I smiled and continued to listen to Lindsay read with a little annoyance after that.

'_We found out a while later after we came across a previous owner of another one.'_

We stopped again.

"So there are more," I said slowly.

'_Aye, there are others,' _Lindsay laughed as she read the next line in Jack's letter._ 'But not all rubies, mind ye. Maybe sapphires or other precious gems of some sort. They were bewitched somehow long ago, but that doesn't matter now. If I had found another, I would've come and see ye in a heartbeat.'_

Aww…

'_Some may still exist, some may not. But they were low in numbers, so I wouldn't get yer hopes up in finding one. I've searched and searched these past twenty-two years to no avail –'_

"Twenty-two years!" I shouted. "Dang! He was getting old!"

' _- so don't waste yer time, lassies. I know it's tempting, but please; just stay away. Ye'll find much better things to do, I have faith in ye.'_

Smiles and a glint and Stewie's eye…

"No, Stewart," I said.

"But we could find one!"

"No," Lindsay and I said firmly. She crossed her arms and pouted as Lindsay read on.

_'We'd all love te see ye again, especially Paige and Thomas. They would like ye to meet their boy sometime, and if ye'd ever happen to come back in yer late thirties by chance sometime, bring yer own children to meet 'im.'_

We gaped.

"They're that old?" I asked.

"Twenty-two years," Lindsay said. "They'd be what… forty and thirty-nine when he wrote this? Thirty-eight? Something like that… Anyways…"

_'That's another thing we learned 'bout that little ruby. Ye can actually go visit any ol' time in the person's life ye associated with. So if ye wanted to visit me as a kid, get a picture in yer heads of me as yer countin'… it's not to give ye ideas, but just a picture… a 'for instance.' Don't go loopy on me now.'_

"Aye aye, cap'n," Stewie said, saluting the sheet of paper that was practically falling apart in Lindsay's hands from its age.

_'Let's see, what else shall I tell you about? Well, there are the effects of aforementioned ruby. Will, Elizabeth, and I remembered what had happened, and even Paige and Thomas did. Paige found me sooner thanks to that little perk, and we teamed up and beat Miss Rebecca Barbossa about six months earlier than when ye were all here. She seemed to be as twisted in the head as before, thinkin' she could beat us. Oh, and I didn't get shot, Jane. I thought ye'd might like to hear that."_

Lindsay stopped and beamed as her eyes began to tear up. I sighed patiently until she wiped her eye and kept on reading.

_'But it's awful peculiar I still have scars from it… Check yerselves. Ye might have a few yerself. I know ye have a nice long one on yer leg, Grace. From the cave? Right leg, if I'm not mistaken.'_

My eyes widened, and I brought my right knee up to me. I lifted my pant leg, and there, from my ankle almost to the bottom of me knee, was the ever so faintest white line; it was a scar that looked like it had been there healing forever. Lindsay and Jessica gaped at it with me. I blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't the light playing tricks on me, but it was there. Almost invisible, but it was there.

"That…" Lindsay said breathlessly, "is nuts."

"That is," Stewie said, nodding her head slowly.

I lifted my head and half-laughed in disbelief. "The scars are real," I said just to hear it out loud. "They're really there."

"It really happened," Lindsay said. "Why wouldn't they be there?" She pulled her shirt down a little, and Stewie and I saw a few white circles dotted together on her chest. We both gawked; they were the gunshots from being in the Caribbean.

Immediately, Stewie and I began to look ourselves over entirely. Little white dotted scars from being shot when we were immortal were on us, too, along with sword slashes and such.

"It looks like we've had them for ages," I said. "They look so old."

"Yeah," Stewie said, looking up from her arm slowly. "Four centuries old."

Lindsay and I stared at her.

"That should not make sense, but somehow it does," Lindsay said with some discomfort in her voice. She quit examining herself, and picked up the letter again. Stewie and I leaned in.

_'The scars are there, even though things have changed. I'm not exactly sure how to place that one, considering if ye still have scars from Rebecca and we killed her in a different way, how's that possible? I suppose that's a boundary we aren't supposed to cross then, eh? Well, so much for that. We've got scars from alternate realities… how about that?'_

We smiled.

_'It's amazing; the things ye learn everyday. And the things ye see. The miracles, I mean. Even the commonplace things such as the ocean and the smell of salty air are great happenin's. Little miracles, if ye will. But meetin' you three and yer crew of misfits from a world I think I have nightmares about now is beyond a miracle. _

'_The parallels scare us to this day. Ye're like barbarians or something, but with kind, loving hearts. Ye put yer trust in yerselves as ye should rather than a Code, which is, by all means, the most respectable and honorable thing anyone could ever do. Ye taught us a lot that we can never forget, especially another alternative way to have a good time. Ye did that numerous times, though…'_

We laughed through the tears.

_'And I admit that I was terrified when we first met. Thought ye had placed some sort of hex or somethin' on us to bring us to yer nightmarish world. It is still a strange place to me. Whenever I just think about it here and there I get that look on me face Will likes to imitate all the time. And he does it openly now when the crew's around which has earned him a few nasty glares…'_

We busted out laughing, all of us together thinking of the part in the movie where Will does that imitation of Jack. It was a good laugh, too. How can that not be funny just to picture?

_'And it's not funny," _Lindsay read, which made us laugh more._ "Well, it may be funny to you, but to us who have to suffer the humiliation of a whelp, well…'_

More laughter from Lindsay. She started to choke she was laughing so much.

"Breathe," Stewie said, slamming her back.

"Yeah, don't die," I said.

She gave a few more giggled before clearing her throat and continuing.

_'Anyways, not important. What is important is that ye remember all that has happened, because if ye don't, our very meeting would have been in vain. So if ye have amneedsya or whatever it's called," – _we laughed again_ –"please try to remember anything ye can about a handsome pirate, a whiny blacksmith, and a lovely governor's daughter. I doubt it highly, but ye might have yer pendants still: the tooth, the locket, and the sun. If ye can't remember how they came to ye, just believe that it was us and do whatever it takes to remember that. It's crucial, darlings. Ye've got the power to change the world now with what ye know, from yer own personal lives to the ones all the way in Singapore (I doubt ye live anywhere near there, but I never really asked ye, come to think about it). _

'_We've changed a lot around this shabby little sea in that year we relived. Norrington married after we defeated Rebecca, Tortuga got a whole new tavern put in thanks to yours truly from all that gold in Isle de Muerta, and also with that gold, I got me a few renovations on the Pearl from me own damned crew firin' at it during that one sea battle when I was in the hold. Also, Letter of Marques became the new thing, and I was asked to show the men some antics and such even though I never got a Letter meself. Didn't want one, anyhow. No fun in that!_

'_But our time together was fun, I guess. More weird and strange and that than fun, but still, a great little adventure. A nice odd pirate story to share amongst the seven seas. Oh, and did I mention ye're all a great big legend now?'_

We looked at each other.

_'Remember how famous ye were in the Caribbean when ye first showed up? Well, our story's been circulated all over the Caribbean for these past years as a feared myth and a favorite bedtime story. How does that make ye feel?'_

I sat there with words ready to come out of my mouth, and the first one that popped out hesitantly was, "Special?" I shrugged, and Lindsay read on.

_'I don't know about you, but it makes me feel old.'_

We laughed, picturing Jack saying this with disgust.

_'I mean, that was over twenty years ago in my speakin'. In yer terms of years it was probably ages ago, even before your time. That's why it's important ye believe me if this is actually you at all I am speakin' to. I'm just gonna finish this up and toss it over the rail in a bottle. I know that sounds foolish, but somehow it feels like ye'll get hold of this before the sharks and sand swallow it. I just have this feelin'. Hard to explain, but I'd imagine ye understand. Ye're smart and know a lot about the world around ye and how it works. And if ye don't, ye find out or make somethin' up which is just fine.'_

"Yes!" I laughed. "Jack approves! It's official!"

_'It's very different from the way things are here, but change is nice every once in a while. Change isn't always bad, Grace. Don't forget that.'_

Those words jumped off of the page in 3-D and smacked me right across the face. I was speechless. He remembered that. Then I smiled. If he could remember us after twenty-some-odd years, we could sure as heck remember him and the others.

"Erica? What?' Lindsay asked.

"Oh. It's just… something that Jack said to me before the wedding," I said. "A little talk he gave me."

"Oh. Well… here. We're almost done," she said a little sadly.

_'And don't forget who ye are if ye haven't already. We may never be able to see or speak to each other again, but that bond ye mentioned during the ceremony held onto us all. And it will stay there. I haven't much more room to write, but just remember that ye're the Littles with big hearts and ideas that will get ye anywhere ye want te go, even if it is back here. I have faith in ye, and absolute trust from the night we first arrived. And ye have it for the four hundred years that separate us, too. _

_'Stay together forever, and never let yer relationship become any less than it is. Because if ye do, ye can't be Littles on yer own. Ye're mates, the best ones around that need each other. And you shall have each other because of what we have done. Always keep close to one another, or the whole year and a half we shared will dissipate and be gone forever. We're bound by the memories, remember? So stay together. Ye'll need each other before it's all said and done._

'_Take care, lassies. We'll miss ye._

_'Captain Jack Sparrow of The Black Pearl._

_'P.S. – Check yer jewelry for magic gems… ye know, just in case…'_

Lindsay lowered the letter and all three of us looked at each other with tears in our eyes, but with thoughtful smiles.

"So now what?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"Um, hello?" Stewie said, grabbing the letter and pointing to the bottom of it. "The P.S.?"

Lindsay and I exchanged looks before the three of us jumped up and ran for Lindsay's room. We immediately attacked the jewelry box on her dresser like savage beasts. But then, halfway through ripping it apart, he heard the sliding glass door open again. We turned in shock with wide eyes, but our hopes were crushed once again when we saw Lindsay's grandma come back in.

"Quick, Stewie! Hide!" Lindsay said, shoving her onto the floor behind the side of the bed.

"But- Oof!"

"Shhh!"

"Lindsay, did you-" Her grandma stopped in the doorway when she saw me holding the old letter. "What is that?" she asked.

"Well um… Grandma?" Lindsay asked sweetly. "Where did you get that bottle with the paper in it?" She waited for yelling, but her grandma laughed.

"Oh, I found that in the Caribbean when my mother took me years ago," she said. Lindsay and I stared at each other. "I forgot where I had it, but I never opened it. What does it say?"

"Oh, nothing," I said. "The ink must've washed off," I said, showing her the back of the long scroll. She bought it and shrugged.

"Oh well. Lindsay, I just wanted to remind you to pick up your new contacts at the eye doctor's on the sixteenth of next month."

"Okay," she said. "Bye."

"Bye."

Her grandma left again, and Stewie sat up slowly, looking at us with big eyes and then back down at the bottle she had carried in with her.

"What is it?" I asked.

She stared at the wall and smiled. "Huh…"

"What?" Lindsay asked.

"I like it."

"Like what?"

"What Jack called our story," she said, looking up at us.

Lindsay and I exchanged clueless looks. Jess rolled her eyes and sighed as if it were plain as day.

"He called it an odd pirate story," she said. "I like that."

"Yeah," Lindsay said. "Just an odd pirate story. I bet that what everyone in the Caribbean referred to it like that," she laughed.

I smiled curiously.

"I do, too," I said. "And I think I have an idea…"

"What?" Stewie asked. I looked at them evenly.

"We put it to paper."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And that is how the whole series came to be.

Cool, huh?

Well, I have to thank you all from the bottom of my hearts for the support you give me. I'm going to be starting The Little Chronicles here anytime soon, and I'll let you know when on my Author's Page. Thank you so much again. I cannot stress enough how important you all are to me. You inspire me, you make me laugh, and you read my works with great patience and enthusiasm, which is the greatest thing I could ask for at this point. Thanks so much. And look at your calendars – Today is the two-year anniversary of the first post of the first story in the series. I posted Buried Treasure two years ago today. It's been amazing. I feel so blessed by the experience, and for you. Thanks for making me the luckiest person alive.

And by the way, Norwin's show **_SUCKED_** compared to ours, lol.

Love you guys! Please, _please_ review!

So ends another chapter in my life...

**_And check out Invisible Scars (Lord of the Rings)tomorrow! LoL..._**

**4.13.06**


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